Decker's Deed
by Levana Fay
Summary: If Jenny messed up, why did Decker have all the clues? Judgement Day AU in which we see the real reason Decker knew so much.
1. Chapter 1

Decker's Deed

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Rating: T

Summary: If Jenny messed up, why did Decker have all the clues? Judgement Day AU in which we see the real reason Decker knew so much.

_**Paris 1999**_

William Decker walked in to the hotel with a purposeful stride. Tonight he had seen the most beautiful woman. She had smiled at him from across the street and he had fallen head over heels in lust for her. He grinned. There was no mistaking the tightening in his groin when she looked him in the eye, and there was no chance it was love. She was business, pure and simple. The only problem was she wasn't his business. He spotted the person he was looking for and looked around cautiously for her lover. Gibbs had the most annoying habit of appearing at the wrong time. Not seeing him, Decker strode through the throng of hotel guests towards Jenny. He knew the woman he had been fantasising about for the last twenty minutes was her target, but hopefully not for long. He had thought of the perfect plan and he knew that she would go for it.

"Jen." She turned and smiled at him while she scanned the crowd for people who were trying to listen in. Seeing none she returned the greeting.

"Will."

"Jen, I have a problem." He made his voice waver slightly, to make it sound like he was really worried.

"What is it?" she lowered her voice, knowing that the only type of problem he would come to her with would have something to do with the case.

"He saw me."

"What? How?"

"I literally nearly walked right in to him. I was following him down an alley and I only just made it out."

"What do you want to do?" This was it, time to go for it.

"Swap with me." Her eyes widened and she looked slightly hurt.

"You want to swap now that you have him on alert for threats?" He winced, he hadn't thought about it like that.

"He won't suspect a woman, Jen. He's a chauvinist." He could see her contemplating it and he played his ace. "You could get Gibbs to help you as back-up, just in case." She looked up at him, her eyes ablaze.

"I do not need help. Fine, I'll swap with you. Where does he hang out?"

"Thanks Jenny, you're the best. The Club Anglais. Svetlana?"

"She mostly stays at her hotel room, but she sometimes wanders around the boutiques in Galeries Lafayette. Try not to screw this one up Will." His eyes froze slightly when she said 'screw', but he covered his carnal thoughts by asking a question.

"Where's Gibbs?"

"Right here." Decker jumped into the air when Gibbs' voice sounded right next to his ear and he sent an accusing glance at Jenny, and then rolled his eyes when he noticed she wasn't paying him any more attention. As soon as Jethro shows up, they lose themselves in their own private world. Well tonight it was his turn. Jenny reached up to Jethro as soon as he entered her personal space and they locked themselves in a passionate embrace, kissing deeply and thoroughly. He excused himself, not that they would've heard him, and he slipped out the hotel. He was sick of being the wall flower, the _other_ person who sat around alone, while they touched each other or kissed constantly. Tonight was the night they all took out their targets, and tonight was when he would get it on with his.

He wandered around the boutiques like Jenny had told him, just in case she was around there. His plan to seduce her was a simple one. She already knew what he looked like and she wanted him, he had seen it in her eyes. So he would corner her, push her up against a nearby wall and lower his mouth to hers. He would run his hands over her body and whisper in her ear… he shook himself from his fantasy. He needed to find her first. Circling the boutiques again, he spotted her watching him from a café. She was alone. Svetlana winked at him saucily and wiggled her fingers at him. Like a moth to a flame he walked closer to her, sitting opposite her when she told him to. No words were spoken as they gazed heatedly across the small coffee table at one another, their legs seeking each other out and rubbing together. Will was in heaven, but he knew he was going to hell for what he was about to do. She stood up from the table; eyes still locked on to him and tilted her blonde head to show he should follow her. He did, and he stayed a few steps behind her as she led him all the way to her hotel room.

She unlocked her door and disappeared inside, pulling her coat off as she went, making him dash for the door before it closed behind her. He didn't want to miss this, the slow unveiling of his prize. He rounded the corner and saw her standing in the middle of the floor, looking a little hesitant. Well he didn't like that. Hesitation was a big turn off, so he tried to recreate the atmosphere of seduction by closing the door behind him slowly, and looking her up and down. She gave him a cautious smile and he closed in on her, taking her lips roughly and skimming his hands over her. She threw herself in to the kiss and he smirked. Success.

A little while later and Will was coming down from his high. Svetlana was lying next to him and he watched her sleep. It was a shame he had to kill her. She was really something in the sack and he wouldn't mind having her again. He shook his head and gently rolled out of bed, picking up his clothes and re-dressing. She was a lovely woman, probably wouldn't even have been on the hit list if she wasn't involved with that Anatoly guy. He sighed softly and pulled out his gun. It really was a shame she had to die. He turned back to the bed and raised his gun, only to freeze when he realised she wasn't in it. He looked around him frantically and heard the click of a gun behind him. He spun around quickly and raised his gun to her as she did the same.

She looked very different now. She looked disgusted with herself and he suddenly realised how lucky to be alive he really was. She had lured him here to kill him. Why hadn't she though? He smirked as he thought she must've wanted to try him out before killing him, just like he had. She narrowed her eyes further in anger as his smirk widened. She looked murderous. He didn't want to die and he was beginning to see that it just might happen. He silently cursed his libido and cast a glance at the door. If it came to a shoot out they would probably both die. An idea came to him and he grasped it like a lifeline.

"Look Svetlana, we both have a gun pointed at each other and we will both go down shooting. No one wins. So why don't we just go our separate ways? I'll say you are dead, and you go in to hiding. NCIS won't bother you again."

She mulled over his words for a while and then nodded. She walked over to the door slowly and reached back for the handle. He moved slowly towards her so she couldn't use the door as a shield and they both moved out in to the hall. Once out of the room they were able to move down the hall in separate directions. Decker hoped no one would come around the corner and see them like this. As soon as he rounded the corner he turned and ran for the stairs, not bothering with the lift since she could be waiting to take him out on the other side of the door. He flew down the stairs and out of the hotel, turning in to an alley in front of it. With any luck she would come out soon and he could take her out from across the street. He settled in to a relaxed position and kept his gun trained on the entrance. She didn't come out.

Four hours later, Decker walked dejectedly in to the lobby of the hotel he and his partners were staying in. He couldn't believe what he had done. She had well and truly played him and he hadn't seen any trace of her since they had separated on that corridor. He had even gone back in to search the hotel room, but there was nothing there. It was as if she had just disappeared in to thin air. He had then searched every floor of the hotel, with no luck. She was gone, with no clues as to where. He had screwed up big time. He spotted Jenny and Jethro on the dance floor and stood watching them. They had probably killed theirs with no problems; it was just him that couldn't think with the head on his shoulders. They nuzzled each other's mouths softly and held each other closer. They looked so much in love, without a care in the world and in that moment he hated them. If they hadn't been all over each other then he wouldn't have wanted Svetlana so badly. He wouldn't have been so desperate to be with someone. Well he might have screwed up the mission but it was their fault, and he would make sure the Director knew it. He grinned. _Let's see how romantic they can be from different continents. _He made his way over to them and coughed loudly, watching as they pulled apart and then instantly became business like.

"It's done." They smiled at him and he felt a little twinge of guilt. They trusted him enough to not even grill him on his method. They just offered him a drink. He took it gratefully and decided he would be remiss if he didn't ask them. "Yours?"

"Done." They both replied simultaneously and then smiled at each other allowing his sneer to go unnoticed. Of course they had done theirs; they were a pair of natural killers. He internally sighed in frustration. If he had just stuck to the plan and his own target, he wouldn't be having this problem. Why did Jenny have to give in so easily? Couldn't she have fought him a little? Well what was done was done, and if he was going to be fired for negligence, he would tear them apart too. Feeling a little bit better about the situation now he was having such vindictive thoughts, he raised his glass.

"To a case well done." They grinned at him and raised theirs, touching their glasses together and downing the rest of the liquid inside. He was going to miss them, but when they found out what he had done, they wouldn't miss him.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

_**LA 2008**_

Svetlana followed Viggo through the airport, and hurried after him to get in his cab. They had just landed in LA and their first target was close. It was nine years since she had found Anatoly's body in that alleyway. Nine years since she had last seen his face and kissed his lips. She felt sick when she remembered what she had been doing when he was killed. Tears filled her eyes and she squeezed them shut as soon as she was seated in the taxi. Her job had been to lure the man back to the hotel, where Anatoly would be waiting. As soon as he walked through the door, her lover was supposed to put a bullet in his head, but he wasn't there. She felt Viggo wrap his arm around her shoulders and she relaxed in to his touch. She had quickly realised something had gone wrong and so she had allowed the man to take her to bed, knowing that it would be easier to kill him once he was peaceful. She had only just made it out alive. Thankfully Anatoly had tutored her well, so she had packed her stuff and disguised herself, allowing her to walk out the front door unnoticed.

Not long after that she had found out that she was pregnant and the agony of not knowing if the father was Anatoly or that sleaze ball had almost made her abort it. She hadn't, and Anatoly's son was currently residing in Russia with her mother, waiting for her return. Now was the time for revenge though. She knew where the man who killed her soul mate was and she had the money to take out not only him, but the other two as well. First things first, she was going to kill the man who had taken advantage of her, William Decker, and she was going to enjoy it. She settled against Viggo's warm, solid frame and smiled. He wasn't Anatoly, but he was a good father figure to her boy.

The cab took them to a nearby hotel and Viggo carried their bags inside, since they had both travelled light, there wasn't much to carry, since bringing a lot of stuff, meant more stuff that could potentially link them to a crime. They checked in as a couple and went to their room to change and get ready for their first kill. It didn't take long. She made sure her hair was tied back to limit the risk of any being found at the scene of the soon-to-be crime. Viggo went out to appropriate a car for them to use while she finished freshening up and by the time she was standing out front of their hotel, he had a black SUV for them. She buckled in next to him and they set off for the address her contact had found for her, getting there in only a few hours. It was not what she had expected. The neighbourhood was very expensive, all with large gardens and huge driveways and fast cars. All in all, it was a very nice place that he lived in, so she assumed he had come into quite a lot of money during the last few years, since his suit nine years ago hadn't even been designer.

"Remember, we need to make him talk before we kill him, so if you see any opportunities for torture, do not hesitate." Viggo grinned next to her and squeezed her hand.

"Come on, the sooner we start, the more time we'll have for long, drawn out torture." She smiled back and they carefully parked the car out of sight of the neighbours. They got out and walked around to the back of the house, for more privacy for when they broke in. They crept around the side of the house and Svetlana peeked around the corner to look for signs of life. There was a large pool in the back yard and a man was floating on a Lilo in the middle of it. His back was towards them, giving them the perfect opportunity to sneak up on him. She pulled her head back and looked excitedly at Viggo.

"He is floating on a lilo in his pool."

"I'll come up behind him, you distract him." she agreed and then allowed Viggo to move past her. He looked around the corner and then disappeared around it, her following seconds later. Viggo carefully entered the water, moving slowly and softly so the water wouldn't slosh around and give him away. Svetlana nodded in encouragement and moved to get alongside the floating man. Decker sighed in contentment and then turned to his side to reach for his drink. Svetlana froze panicking; Viggo wasn't ready yet. She saw he hadn't bothered to open his eyes as he held out his hand holding the drink and she relaxed. Viggo edged closer, so he was standing just behind him and reached out for him, just as Decker opened his eyes and saw Svetlana on the poolside. He just stared at her, his facial expression displaying his horror and she smiled at him.

"Remember me?"

His response was to try to jump off his lilo away from her, but Viggo's strong arms caught him, crushing him to his chest and bringing his legs underwater, where his kicking became completely ineffectual. Viggo's arms held Decker's to his sides, making him completely helpless. William opened his mouth to call for help, but Svetlana saw his intention and nodded to Viggo, who dipped him under the water, his breath making only bubbles, rather than the loud scream he would have made. Viggo winked at her and Svetlana beckoned him closer, so she would be able to get at Decker without having to get in the pool too. Viggo pulled him along through the water, each step slow and careful so that he didn't trip over anything. By the time he got to her the bubbles were slowing. Viggo roughly pulled Decker's head out of the water and he took great gasps of air, grateful to be able to breathe.

"I have some questions for you William, and I expect truthful answers from you. If I don't get them, you don't get air. Do you understand me?" Decker nodded quickly, still gasping for air. "Good. Now, who killed Anatoly?"

"W-we all… had a… target each. The one who killed your boyfriend was… called Mr. Oshimaida." She nodded and committed the name to memory. That was the one she would kill slowly. She thought of something else, she was just the handler for Anatoly, why was she a target?

"Why was I your target?"

"You weren't." Svetlana scoffed and then gestured for Viggo to dunk him under the water for lying.

If she wasn't his target, why did he come to kill her? Decker called out for them to wait but Viggo was enjoying himself too much so he held him under until the bubbles slowed again and then reluctantly brought him back up. Decker took in a huge lungful of air and started babbling. When he had eventually took in enough air to speak clearly, Svetlana asked the question again.

"N-no… you weren't… because I s-swapped with… Jenny." Svetlana's eyes narrowed at this new name, but she filed it away and pressed on with another line of questioning.

"Why?" his eyes skittered across the water for a few seconds before he plucked up what was left of his dignity to answer her question honestly.

"I was lonely… and you seemed interested. HQ… thought it was poetic justice for you and your lover to be… killed by her and her lover. I figured it would be… a waste for you to just die-"

"So you thought you would have me and then kill me, is that it?" she sighed in frustration and then refocused on getting more information out of him. "Under what circumstances would they come to see you?"

"My funeral." He spat bitterly until he registered what he had just said, and the corresponding thrilled look in her eyes. "No! Please! N-"

Viggo dunked him again, and this time he kept him under until the bubbles stopped all together, his eyes locked with Svetlana's. She grinned happily at him, contentment suffusing her mind as they extinguished one of the lives that had haunted her for so many years. He deserved this, because of him and this Mr. Oshimaida, her son had grown up without a father, and she had raised him without a husband. He deserved more than this, and this was merciful compared to what they would have done had they had a secure place in which to 'question' him. When Decker had gone completely limp, Viggo pulled him up and checked for his pulse. Finding none he smirked and lifted his body in his arms.

"What do you want to do with his body?"

"Put him back on the lilo. People will think he fell asleep and drowned."

"A tragic accident." She nodded.

"To bring the others running straight to us."

Viggo arranged the body on the lilo and then climbed out of the pool, careful to walk on the grass to conceal his wet shoe prints. They walked swiftly back to the car, avoiding being seen by anyone who may have twitching curtains, and then they drove back to the hotel. Once they were secure back in their hotel room, Viggo went for a shower, leaving Svetlana to think back over the information they had forced from Decker. The man who had killed her Anatoly was called Mr. Oshimaida and his lover had been the one chosen to kill her. Decker had swapped with this Jenny so he could go and seduce her before killing her. She sat back as a plan formed in her mind. She knew the pain of losing your love, so if she could, she would take out Jenny first, then Mr. Oshimaida. It wasn't necessarily the way things would go, just the way that would be the most satisfying for her. Once the funeral for Decker was under way she would attend with Viggo and try to find one or both of them.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: This is going to be very AU, so nothing like JDfic, or the episode. I hope it lives up to your expectations! My update schedule is at the bottom of my Profile page. I'll try to keep up with it!

Director Jennifer Shepard sat at her desk, staring at the phone in her hand, the dial tone still blaring since the lady on the other end had ended the call. She couldn't believe it. William Decker was dead, drowned in his pool at his LA home. Great, but why did she have to deal with this? She wasn't heartless, far from it. Making calls to alert loved ones that their family member wouldn't be coming home, was the hardest thing she had ever been made to do. Even hearing from someone else that one of her agents had died was hard, but not this time. The only thing running through her head was, 'why do I have to go to his funeral?'

Decker had shown her his true colours after the mission to Paris, where she was quietly informed by Director Morrow that she was going to be fired for not completing her job, and because she was having sex with her partner, putting it before the job. He had told her that Decker had called in his kill and then informed the higher ups that Jenny had failed to kill Svetlana. Jenny gritted her teeth as she recalled having to defend her relationship with Jethro, while explaining what had transpired between her and Decker, when they had swapped targets. Apparently Decker had told Morrow that she would try something like that, he had told him that she had completely ignored her duty, instead planning a romantic night for her and Jethro. Oh, she wasn't upset that Will had died; she just hoped it had been slow. The only reason she had made Director, or indeed, even still had a job with NCIS was that she had been able to correctly describe the way she had killed her mark, and Decker couldn't.

She smiled at that memory; they had been called to the video conference with the Director, at the local NCIS office in Paris, together. Decker had calmly and smugly told Morrow that he had used a standard execution shot, two in the heart, one in the head, thinking that Jenny would have done that, since that was how Jethro had trained her. But he was mistaken. The target had been in bed with a hooker at the time, so Jenny had shot him in the butt to make him turn over, and then shot him in the head. The hooker had been blindfolded and tied to the bed, so she hadn't been in danger of being seen. Jenny had then left a tip to the police saying a girl was being attacked in the hotel, so she would be found by a woman, female courtesy really. The autopsy report corroborated Jenny's story, not Will's. Decker had been proven a liar by his own account of events, much more damning than anything she could have said against him.

William had been sentenced to staying in Paris to find and kill Svetlana; he wasn't to be reassigned anywhere else until he had completed his task. Jenny had been happy to be proven right, until Morrow had apologetically told her that he couldn't leave her unpunished. Jethro would be recalled back to DC, while she would be assigned to Europe to run anti-terrorism ops in cooperation with their allies. He had strongly advised her to end her relationship with Jethro before they were split up. She knew now that Morrow had known about Jethro's first wife and all of his consequent ones, he had been trying to make it easier for them both, but at the time she had hated him for what he made her do. Apparently Will had spent a few months in Europe before retiring, so she assumed he completed his task and Morrow let him go. Jenny closed her eyes and replaced the phone in its cradle, she hated Decker more though, and she couldn't find it in herself to forgive him. Maybe going to his funeral would give her the incentive she needed to 'bury the hatchet', as it were.

Just then her door burst open and Jethro strode in, his aura of superiority firmly in place and annoying her. She hadn't summoned him, so she sat back in her chair and waited for him to speak. Jethro stopped directly in front of her desk and gazed at her, his brows furrowing at the expression she tried to squash as it flitted across her face. He always had a certain effect on her when he entered a room, especially if they were alone in said room. She had been very successful at hiding that effect from him, there was no need to give the game away now, however she felt her insides quiver and her attention focus itself entirely on him, and his salt and pepper hair, his broad shoulders and muscled chest… his powerful arms… his skilled hands… _For god's sake girl! A man just died! Focus! _She snapped her attention back to Jethro's face and turned a little pink when she realised he was smirking at her. _Great, just great_. She cleared her throat and then looked at him expectantly.

"Yes Agent Gibbs, what can I do for you?"

"I just want to make it perfectly clear that I'm not going to be Director for a week while you are shopping in LA." Jenny had to stop her jaw from dropping in shock, how the hell did he know she was going to go to LA? She hadn't even decided to go yet! The thought that Abby might be right about his psychic powers crept into her mind and she gave him a calculating stare, but he must've read her thoughts from the expression on her face.

"Cynthia just booked you and two of your detail on a flight to LA." His smirk got wider at her not quite believing look and she realised Cynthia must have listened in on the call. She couldn't be too angry; Cynthia had blocked quite a few pervert's calls from getting through, although the politician they were calling for had to then come and see her in person…

"I just got a call from the LAPD. Apparently William Decker was found dead at his house last week; they say he drowned in his pool. There is no indication of foul play, that they can tell, and his girlfriend asked that his body not be cut up. None of his neighbours saw or heard anything suspicious, in fact they have a witness who saw him before he died floating on his lilo, and after he died, same situation except his face was in the water." Jenny watched sadly as Jethro displayed genuine grief to hear one of his old colleagues was dead. _He wouldn't if he knew the truth_, she thought bitterly, but she also knew she wouldn't tell him. What had happened was between her and Decker, there was no sense in involving Jethro now.

"I want to go to the funeral."

"You have to stay and look after the agency…" Jethro's jaw set and he leaned towards her, palms flat on her desk, his face hovering mere centimetres from her own.

"He was a friend of mine too Jenny, I have the right to go. If you don't let me come, I'll just tell Cynthia I'll be sick all next week and go anyway." Jenny sighed; there really was no way she could keep him away, and it would just be more suspicious if she tried any harder.

"Fine, you can go." He nodded and walked to her door.

"Tony and Ziva will replace your detail and I'll have Cynthia book me a seat with you." He left, closing the door firmly before she could say anything and she stared in shock at the cold steel door. _What the hell just happened? _She wondered, distractedly running a hand through her hair. _You got outmanoeuvred by Gibbs, _her mind told her happily, too happily. Jenny shook her head slowly as she faced the thought that she hadn't wanted to stop him coming with her. A week in LA with Jethro would be wonderful, especially since he had chosen Tony and Ziva to accompany them. They would want to see LA alone too, which was perfect for what Jenny had in mind. She scowled as the service for that coward crept back into her mind, it would ruin the mood of the getaway. Wait, when did she decide this would be a getaway? _It's a funeral for crying out loud! _

Jenny groaned and plonked her head on her desk. She was going to have to work extra hard to keep her hands off of him, which was proving difficult already. One smirk and she was a mess of hormones, and the worst thing was she knew why. Ever since he had tucked Carson in at her house when she was looking after him for the night, she hadn't been able to get a fantasy out of her head. It wasn't a dirty fantasy, which made it worse in a way. It was a fantasy where she and Jethro had been tucking in their own little boy, before retiring to their own bedroom, in _their_ house. Consequently, whenever they were alone, even if they were just in a quiet corner of the bullpen, she had to physically stop herself from touching him. She had, embarrassingly, asked Ducky for help, wondering what was wrong with her, and he had told her it was just her biological clock, telling her she was running out of time. She cursed the power Jethro seemed to have over her. It was going to be a long week.

--

Jethro closed the door to Jen's office and stepped up to Cynthia's desk. The Director's secretary gave him a slightly peeved look which said, 'yes I heard you and yes I've already made the changes.' He nodded to her, smiling and then left, moving along the catwalk towards the elevator. He pushed the call button and watched his team down in the bullpen. Tony was tormenting Ziva once again by throwing little bits of paper at her. She was trying to ignore him, but when one piece hit her in the eye, she jumped up and threw her hidden knife at him, the blade impacting above his head on the cubicle wall. Gibbs smirked as Tony went completely silent, his mouth wide open in shock while Ziva walked over to him. She slowly took the bits of paper out of her hair and placed them on the desk in front of him before removing her knife from the wall and slipping it back in its hiding place. She walked back to her desk and Tony stared hard at his computer screen, ready to work for the next few minutes, until he had built up enough courage to try something else. Shaking his head, Gibbs slipped into the elevator and then hit the emergency stop, the other occupant of the lift standing beside him, giving him an amused glance.

"Tobias."

"Jethro."

"You got it?"

"Sure have. Happy reading." The FBI Agent handed Gibbs a manila folder and then flicked the emergency stop back off. The doors dinged and he stepped out without a backwards glance. Not that Jethro would have seen it if he had. He tucked the file in his jacket and pressed the button for the bullpen. Stepping out of the elevator, he wandered around the stairs and then over to DiNozzo so he was out of his line of sight. He reached out as he passed and slapped the back of his senior field Agents' head.

"If she damages that wall again DiNozzo, you are paying for it." He sat down behind his own desk and logged onto his computer. He looked up at Tony and Ziva. "You two are going with me and the Director to LA, you are acting as her security detail. You should have an email detailing the flight information." He decided to check the confirmation email he knew Cynthia would send him too. He didn't like having to struggle with his stupid machine, but she would just tell him to check his email if he asked in person. She had been doing that since he was Director for a week, and he was certain she was only doing it to amuse herself. He grumbled under his breath and then read the email, _Okay so the flight is today at 4pm_. He glanced at his watch and nodded. It was 1pm now so he had an hour.

"Boss, can we go pack?" Gibbs glanced up and nodded, watching as they practically sprinted for the lift. They would more than likely be bringing loads of superfluous stuff, like young people seemed to think they would die without. He chuckled to himself and then sat back in his chair. McGee was down with Abby at the moment so he had the bullpen to himself. He pulled out the file Tobias Fornell had given him and opened it, skim reading some of the information. He suddenly snapped the folder closed and stood, tucking it back in to his jacket. He had an hour before his flight and he always kept a packed bag just in case, so he would make the most of the half hour he had spare. He walked towards the elevator, contemplating his next move.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

The service for William Decker was really quite beautiful, he just didn't deserve it. Since she was the Director, Jenny Shepard got to be seated close to the front (_oh joy_). She was sat in one of the front rows, alternating between feeling extremely aggravated and hot and bothered. She didn't know when this thing was going to be over, but she really hoped it would be soon. She couldn't take much more of sitting next to Jethro, his leg accidentally brushing up against hers and causing her to melt inside and her breathing to become irregular. She had almost died of embarrassment when he had asked her if she needed some air because she looked flushed. She gritted her teeth and tried to keep her mind on the here and now. Why did this thing take so long? She had been to plenty of funerals and they never lasted this long. _Guess it's great what money can buy_, she thought venomously, Decker's rather fortunate win at the lotto obviously paid for all of this and his _young_ girlfriend. She bit her tongue repentantly, it wasn't the girl's fault the only good part of Will had probably been his money. She bit harder, she was being so unfair to the girl but her opinion of Decker coloured her judgement.

She risked a glance to her right, so she could watch Jethro instead. God, if he was on TV, she'd tune in everyday. His lovely short hair that was just long enough for her to tangle her fingers in seemed to beg her to do just that, and she felt her fingers twitch involuntarily. Her eyes drifted over his neck and down to his broad shoulders, she remembered clinging on to those often enough in the throes of passion, her nails scoring down his back... His head tilted to the side a little and she spun hers around to look straight ahead, her cheeks flushing again, knowing that she had been caught staring. Damn her fair skin, she couldn't hide her feelings if her blood was going to rush to her face whenever she got caught. At least it wasn't rushing to other places, she already had an ache she couldn't rid herself of thanks to the plane ride to LA.

Jethro had insisted on sitting beside her then, too. She had spent the entire trip imagining him leaning over and kissing down her neck, or putting his hand on her knee and gradually sliding it up… she'd had to bite her lip to prevent herself from enquiring if he had ever thought of joining the mile high club. She shivered in her seat and squirmed until she was comfortable. Once she had looked at him just as he was holding a bundle of folders in the crook of his arm and her mind had immediately substituted it for a baby. She had stared at him like a goldfish, the naked longing on her face displayed for so long she didn't know how he had managed to miss it, but she was glad he had. In fact the one who had caught her at it had had to throw a scrunched up napkin at her to break her out of it. Thank god for Ziva and the fact she was a crack shot.

She sighed as she watched him now, shifting around in his seat and baring his neck to her, she could see his pulse point throbbing and she felt her insides quiver, wishing it was something else that was throbbing between them. She groaned and quickly turned it in to a cough when he turned to look at her. That was the most inappropriate thing to be thinking about during a funeral. She shook her head at herself, it wasn't her fault the man was a so good to look at. _Think of something else_, she thought, something that would be interesting enough to keep her thoughts away from Jethro and to keep her sane in the tediousness of this traitor's funeral. She smiled as she decided that making plans for the rest of the week would be a great way to take her mind off of him. She could go back to her hotel room to change into a lovely summer dress and invite Jethro to the beach with her; maybe she could get him to rub sun block on her skin, every inch of her skin…

"_Oh_… er _ahem_!" she turned a vivid shade of red as she realised she had moaned out loud. Jethro turned to her and leaned over, whispering in her ear.

"Are you ok, Jen? You look like you might be coming down with something." _If only I was going down with __**someone**__… _she cleared her throat and smiled brightly.

"I'm fine, Jethro." Was it just her imagination, or did her voice sound more… breathless than usual? She stood up as the rest of the mourners _finally_ began to file out and gave a sigh of relief. _Freedom at last_. Jethro took her elbow and escorted her out of the church, keeping step with her until the press appeared outside asking for an interview with her. She internally sighed and started her speech as Jethro left to stand to one side with Tony and Ziva. She usually found out as much as she could about the deceased Agent, if she didn't already know them, and then made an appropriate speech from the heart, but she had prewritten this one on principal. She knew everything she needed to about Will; the only problem had been saying something pleasant. She plastered a smile on her face and recited the biggest load of crap she had ever written, but it would make his loved ones happy, which was what she wanted. Once she had finished she walked up the steps to write her name in the book, noticing once she got there that Jethro had already done his. God he was such a good sneak, maybe he could put those skills to good use tonight if she invited him back to her room…

"Is there a Mr. Oshimaida here?" As the name passed the male speakers lips, Jenny froze, her thoughts stopping before her body did, reverting back to Agent mode, her plans already forgotten. _Oshimaida? It's not possible…_

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Could you check again?" Jenny pulled out her compact and pointed it strategically over her shoulder so she could see the man asking. She didn't recognise him, but she did recognise his thick accent. Russian. Crap. The man nodded as he got the same nugatory answer and he walked away. Jenny quickly removed her phone from her bag and pointed it at the man as she followed him, taking as many pictures as she could, hoping one would be good enough for an id. The man got in to a black SUV, the license plate of which Jenny tried to get a picture, and then drove away. Jenny stood there in shock for a few moments until she felt an arm at her elbow.

"You ok Jen?" she turned to look at Jethro's concerned face and she felt her throat constrict. If what she was thinking was correct, he was in terrible danger, and she had let it happen. She slipped her sunglasses on so he couldn't see the tears that were suddenly threatening in her eyes.

"Actually I don't think so, Jethro. We should go straight back to the hotel. I have some paperwork to do anyway." _And there you won't notice me slip away_.

--

Ziva rolled her eyes again as Tony began talking nonstop about how great LA was and how sexy the girls were, and how cool the cars were. Like she wanted to hear him praise another woman's body when she hadn't even heard him praise hers! Not that she wanted that, it would just be a nice… complement. She frowned at her conflicted feelings and kicked his foot in annoyance, smiling as he winced, effectively shutting up for the next few minutes. The silence was wonderful. She cast her eyes warily around the church again, not that there were any threats here; she just didn't want her instincts to slow because she didn't have to use them all the time anymore. She caught movement out the corner of her eye and her attention snapped to Jenny. Ziva fought off a grin, her poor friend seemed to be unable to keep her eyes away from Gibbs and she couldn't help but hope that she didn't end up making a fool of herself. The way she had been looking at him had been rather lustful. Oh yes, there it is again. She watched as Jenny turned her attention back to Gibbs and then moaned, _actually moaned,_ before quickly trying to pass it off as a cough. Ziva couldn't help it; she let out a little giggle and found herself the sole beneficiary of Gibbs and Tony's curious glances. She turned her own giggle into a cough and then ignored them, waiting for the damn funeral to end. She didn't see why she and Tony had been made to come to LA with Jenny when Gibbs was here. It wasn't as if anyone would even dare to look at them wrong with him glaring at everyone. Tony tapped her shoulder and she reached out, gripping his thumb and twisting until he dropped to his knees, squealing like a little girl.

"Owowow, !" Ziva looked at him worriedly. What rubbish had he just come out with?

"What did you say Tony?" she let go of his thumb and he stood, taking a step away from her.

"The congregation is moving Ziva." She nodded and then stood, following Jenny and Gibbs out in to the sunshine. Tony walked close behind her and she turned to smile at him, hoping he would see the apology in her gaze. He always seemed to forgive her for doing such things to him, although he kind of had to, since he was always pulling pranks on her. Jenny stopped on the steps to talk to the press so they moved off to watch from the sidelines. Gibbs came with them, effectively scaring Tony into silence. They watched as Jenny told the reporters about William Decker and his contribution to the safety and security of the entire USA… blah, blah. Gibbs seemed to be interested in her words though, he walked quickly around the paparazzi, checking them out for weapons while their attention was elsewhere and then wandering up to write in the book. She couldn't help but admire his skill, if she hadn't been standing back and watching she might not have noticed him moving around. Tony sidled up next to her.

"Yeah, I can do that, I just thought I'd let the boss have some fun, you know 'cos he doesn't get out much." He grinned at her and she laughed in response. Tony could be really sweet sometimes. She looked him over; the sun was giving his frighteningly bright white skin a lovely slight tan and it looked good on him. Maybe she could persuade him to tan his chest... she smiled indulgently at her thoughts, he had managed to worm his way in to her heart and although she had initially been hesitant to get involved with a player, his attitude when he was with Jeanne had improved her opinion of him.

"Oh, looks like we are going back to the hotel." He whispered in her ear. She turned her attention to Jenny and Gibbs surprised and annoyed that she had missed what was going on, her attention on Tony rather than her charge. Gibbs was leading Jenny to their car and Ziva took off towards them, Tony close behind. Gibbs wouldn't wait for them; they were supposed to be watching so they should have known they were moving. As Ziva buckled in the backseat next to Tony, she realised that Jenny was worried. _What about?_

--

Svetlana sat back in the SUV and smiled at Viggo. They had learned something very valuable today, Mr. Oshimaida had not come to the funeral of William Decker, but this Jenny had. Svetlana had been quite impressed with the way the red head had surreptitiously followed Viggo, but to someone like herself who had been trained by Anatoly, who could watch unseen, it had been too obvious. If only she had told Viggo to bring a weapon, she could have killed her then. She had taken the time to see who Jenny was travelling with and had observed two men and one woman, who appeared to be her security. Well she would only need to worry about one of them, the man who had seemed to look right into her eyes as she had watched Jenny walk closer to her hiding place. She had felt chills down her spine and she knew he had sensed the hidden threat. Well she knew their faces now, and the plate of their car. She could find them easily.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat heavily on his bed, sighing to himself. Well, whilst Jenny was doing paperwork; he may as well do his own. He pulled his bag closer to him and removed the Manila folder he had brought with him, the one that Tobias Fornell had given him and placed it on the bed next to him. He took his time, in no particular rush to see the evidence the FBI had collected against his ex-lover. He shook his head at himself. If Tobias had used it to get NCIS shut down, even temporarily, it must be damning evidence, so why was he double checking? Because he thought he had taught her better than that. He had nothing against getting revenge, but she should have had evidence first. He sighed and picked up the file, reading through it to find what had made Jenny the prime suspect.

He thought back to the half hour he'd had before the flight to LA. He had gone to see Ducky and Abby, to help him understand the implications of what he had read. First he had asked Ducky how La Grenouille had been killed and he had been told that the shot to the head was definitely the cause of death. Ducky's parting words however, had made him want to know if she had killed him, rather than making him want to forget. 'There's a reason sleeping dogs are left to lie, Jethro'. Ducky obviously thought Jenny had killed La Grenouille too. Then Gibbs had gone to see Abby about the bullet. She had been quite helpful. She had told him the casing had had a scratch down it, which she had said was due to flaws in the gun clip. He'd left there with a lot to think about.

Now here he was, looking over the file, knowing what he will find, but needing to see it with his own eyes anyway. He pulled out a picture of the imperfection on the casing and then brought out Jenny's clip. He shook his head at himself as he hesitantly drew them together. _Just do it, you've come too far to back out now. Wouldn't you rather know?_ He closed his eyes as he put them side by side and then opened them, to find he was looking at the matching striations. He sighed, his stomach plummeting in despair. Why? Why had she killed him? They could have arrested him; they had gone down to the Marina the very next day to do just that. If she had waited just one more day Benoit would be rotting in a jail cell somewhere rather than in a grave. He threw down the folder angrily and stood, pacing the floor by the window. Why had she used her own weapon? Why had she left the casing at the scene? She knew not to leave evidence at a crime scene; she even had experience of assassination from the Paris mission. So why make such glaring mistakes now, when everyone knew how much she wanted the guy dead? He ran his hands through his hair and turned to the window, resting his forehead against it gently so he didn't put it through. What the hell did she think she was playing at? Just because she's Director of NCIS, it doesn't mean she's untouchable by the law. He gazed down at the street below him and then opened his mouth in shock.

Where did she think she was going? He stared out the window of his hotel room as she walked out the front door and got into the rental. Did she really think she could sneak away from him without his noticing? He who had taught her everything she knows? He turned from the window and scooped up his weapon, badge and wallet, walking out of his room and racing down the stairs, thanking his lucky stars he had decided to get a rental himself, in case he wanted some time alone from her after reading the FBI's file. Regardless of what he had just read, he didn't want her going out by herself. He couldn't really explain it, but he'd had a terrible feeling of foreboding ever since Decker's funeral. The black SUV that seemed to have caught Jenny's attention had gotten his too, but for another reason. While Jenny had looked at it curiously, he had looked at it warily. To him it had oozed hostility, he had felt it radiating out of the vehicle, and it was an unknown menace that Jenny had been walking _far_ too close to. When it had finally moved away he had felt a temporary relief, but the shadow of the threat was still present in his mind. His gut had never been wrong before and he was positive it wasn't now.

As he walked through the front door of the hotel and jumped in his rental, he caught sight of her car turning just up ahead. Where the hell were DiNozzo and David? He gritted his teeth and started the engine, using his own special brand of driving skills to get through the traffic so he was only a couple of car lengths behind her. She may not think she needs a protection detail, but he was going to make sure she stayed in his sight at all times. In this unfamiliar city, she could be picked off without anyone being the wiser, and he would never forgive himself. He drove more normally once he was closer behind her, so that the screeching horns of other cars wouldn't give him away. Where the hell was she going and how did she know where to go? He tried to stem his frustration and keep his foot away from the accelerator, how much further was she planning to go? If anything happened to her now, back up was nearly 15 minutes away. She finally turned off the main road ahead of him and he dropped back as he noticed he was the only one going that way with her. She drove ahead unheeding of the car following her and he cursed her job as Director. She had obviously let her instincts slide under the constant demand for her signature fifty times a day. He carefully navigated around the car park and saw she had led him to a shabby hotel. He briefly closed his eyes and hoped with everything in him that she wasn't here to meet some guy for a quickie. He opened them again, unable to avoid seeing the slime ball trying to get in her pants, and he endeavoured to quell the jealousy that had reared its ugly head in him. He shook his head to clear it and almost choked on his own tongue in shock and horror when he saw him. _Mike?!_

--

Tony DiNozzo walked through the doors of the hotel towards the pool, with his camera ready and a huge smile on his face. He had just rented the sweetest ride he had ever laid eyes on! The red was incredible, the stripe; perfect! He stopped dead in his tracks as Ziva's bikini clad body came into his line of view. Wow… he lifted the camera and snapped a few pictures, you know, for the holiday album. _What album?_ _Shut_ _up_, he told his conscience, _she_ _might_ _hear_ _you_. With those ninja skills, he wouldn't be surprised if she could read minds. He rubbed his thumb a little recalling how easily he had gone down just from a tiny bit of pressure. He had to get her to teach him that. She talked to him without moving her head from the book in her hands and he had to focus on what she was saying, her long legs distracting his attention from the rest of her. "Stop googling me."

"It's ogling, and I thought that, since we have been given the trip off-" Ziva's head whipped around to him, her book dropping from her hands.

"Since when?" he grinned at her, his superior agent skills getting one over on the Mossad officer once again. _You_ _mean your right place, right time luckiness._

"Since I just saw Gibbs and the Director sneak off for some alone time, in separate cars." Ziva gave him a shrewd look.

"They could be going in two completely different directions." He waggled a finger at her and shook his head, his grin threatening to split his face.

"Nope, Gibbs was following her lead."

"How do you know?"

"The stream of angry drivers he left behind as he tried to catch up to her." Ziva shrugged a secret smile on her face.

"Alright so they may be going to the same place, or Gibbs is doing his job and tailing her." Tony narrowed his eyes. She had accepted that way too easily. She knew something he didn't!

"Ok Zee-va, spill the beans." Ziva glanced at his face clearly amused by him.

"No, I will not."

"Ha ha ha! So there _is_ something going on that you aren't telling me! Something that you feel the need to cover up..." Ziva sighed in exasperation and retrieved her book.

"Drop it Tony."

"Actually its… no you got that one right. Huh." He shrugged and then launched into his guilt speech. "Ziva, we are supposed to be partners and that means we both need to know the same stuff or we aren't as effective as a team. You know something you aren't telling me, yet I tell you everything! Is that fair?" he put on his puppy dog look as Ziva met his eyes.

"Not working Tony." She grinned and turned back to her book. Tony huffed and fell silent, planning his next course of action. He smiled to himself, he could make her talk during the tour of the city, a few well placed comments and she would spill everything!

"Fine. Anyway what I was saying before this debate was that since we have the trip off, we should go and see the city, see the splendour of LA, and now thanks to my foresight, and the fact this trip is being paid for by someone else, we can see the city in style!"

--

Jenny sighed as she parked up in the car park of the shabbiest hotel she had ever seen. She knew how much Mike's pension was, he could afford better than this. She looked around for him, spotting him shortly after, leaning against the door frame of his room, signature cigarette burning away. She smiled a little as she walked up to him.

"Not exactly the Ritz, but then I'm not even sure why I'm here. Better be a damn good reason for me to jump on the first flight out of Mexico." He grumbled by way of greeting. She decided that since he had dismissed the preliminaries, she may as well too.

"Did you know an Agent William Decker?"

"Joined the year after I retired. He in trouble?"

"He's dead, and I'm next."

They went inside and Jenny explained the situation, trying to keep as much of the information about the mission to herself, only to be foiled by Mike's insistence at knowing everything.

"Next time I walk towards that door, it's not going to be just for show."

"Ok, the third Agent is Gibbs."

"Where do I sign up?"

She was secretly amused that all she had to do in the end was drop Jethro's name and Mike was ready to do what she wanted, but her amusement was short lived. Jethro was in serious danger, if they found him before she could deal with them… she sighed as the image she had created in her mind, the one of the perfect little family with Gibbs, his beautiful children smiling, shoved its way to the forefront of her thoughts. If they found him, their babies would never get the chance to live. She huffed to herself, the turn of her thoughts irritating her. They had to find something to prove that Decker's death was not accidental, and to do that, they would have to go to his house.

"We need to get to Decker's, maybe his killer left a calling card that the Police missed."

"Alright. We may as well take two cars, better chance of a getaway in the event something goes wrong." She nodded; he made a lot of sense. She stood and led the way outside, looking around the car park briefly. She felt like… someone was watching her. She shook her head and dismissed the feeling; she was just jumpy because of the circumstances.

"So, you're here on your own? No protection guys?" Mike asked casually as he stopped beside her.

"I left them at the hotel. There's no sense involving them in this." Mike walked to his own car and opened his door, then met her eyes over the hood of the car.

"Did you leave Gibbs in DC?"

"He invited himself to the funeral. He is also at the hotel, safely away from Russian eyes." She got in the driver's side of her own car, missing Franks' smirk and shake of his head, and then she started the engine, making sure Mike was following before getting out on the main road.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Svetlana Chernitskaya, currently known as Natasha Lenkov, crossed her legs and looked over the menu carefully, her hunger not too much of a problem at the moment, but she was feeling a little peckish. The crowded LA restaurant was the perfect place for a discreet conversation, as the loud hubbub would make overhearing nigh impossible, which afforded the privacy that she would definitely need. Waiting for Viggo to join her for dinner was tedious and yet exciting, because she knew that when he arrived he would have new information crucial to their plans. Since 'Jenny' was clearly an important person in this country, Svetlana realised she would have to be more tactful and discreet when she struck, the chance that she would be linked to the murder higher, since Jenny was such a high profile person. So she had told Viggo to gather as much information about her as possible, and what better way than to get it from one of the female reporters that had interviewed her at Decker's funeral? Reporters knew all of the facts and rumours about the persons they interviewed, they had to, or the good stories would pass them by. Viggo had immediately sought out the pretty blonde reporter and Svetlana had watched as the woman's ego quickly surrendered to the Russian man's charms. She smirked to herself and waved the waiter over, ready now to order. The waiter approached and she ordered some bread sticks and two of the house soup, knowing that Viggo would eat it without complaint. He was unique that way. She pulled out her mobile when she felt it vibrate, a message popped up and she opened it. He was on his way over, good. She poured some of the wine into the two glasses and waited patiently for him to appear.

He grinned at her as he approached and she smiled back. He had obviously greatly enjoyed 'interrogating' the pretty woman. He pulled slightly at the collar of his shirt, trying to hide the bite mark from the other patrons. His rather vigorous interrogation techniques were very useful in situations like this, and she knew she was very lucky that he was willing to do it for her. Of course it helped that he had a huge sexual appetite, so there really wasn't much danger of him refusing. He leaned down to her and pecked her cheek before taking the seat opposite her.

"Well, how did it go?"

"Jenny is the Director of an armed Federal Agency called NCIS." Svetlana's eyes flashed with recognition, that name she knew, Anatoly had said it once in her presence, and Decker himself had too. '_NCIS will never bother you again_.' She had assumed NCIS was some sort of international police squad, especially since she had never heard of it before. So Jenny was the Director. Quite a climb for an assassin, although there was now little wonder why she had three people for protection.

"Go on."

"She is unattached, no husband or children. No close friends apart from important people on the political scene." Svetlana smirked, Politicians were only to be feared if they could get good publicity from helping others, and themselves, the slightest hint of scandal though and they would distance themselves completely from her.

"So she has _no_ friends then?" Viggo grinned and nodded.

"Also, according to the reporter, she has a habit of sneaking away from her security detail for a little freedom now and again. She apparently covers her tracks well; they can never seem to find her until she _wants_ to be found." She laughed as a plan began to form in her mind; this may be easier than she had first thought.

"So all we need to do to get her alone is plant something that will make her want to take care of business alone. Well done Viggo." She purred, running her foot up his leg under the table. He shivered in delight and looked her over hungrily. She would reward him later; first they needed to make sure Jenny found a reason to separate from her protection, and she had just the thing in mind.

--

Jenny found her way around the rich side of LA housing quite easily, occasionally glancing into her rear-view mirror to ensure Mike was keeping up with her. He didn't seem to have a problem with that, his car almost glued to her back bumper since they had set off. She tried not to think about Jethro back at the hotel, blissfully unaware of the fact his life was in danger and all because she had swapped targets with Decker. If she had just said no, she would have killed Svetlana and Decker would have had no reason not to kill his target, and none of this would be happening. Aggravated by her past mistake she gritted her teeth and tried to concentrate harder on the road ahead, carefully guiding her car around tight bends to keep her mind off of her stupidity. The house loomed into view and she whistled to herself at the obviously expensive abode, that the late owner hadn't deserved. The house was not that old, it had just been built when Decker had bought it, the door was made from an expensive kind of wood, and the garden was large, and that was just the front garden, the back was supposed to have a pool! Even the grass looked like it had been transferred from a private grass nursery; it was so crisp and bright green. She shook her head in disgust and parked in front of the house, watching in the mirror as Mike parked behind her.

Jenny got out of the car quickly; walking up to the door and then casually looking around to see if any of the neighbours had twitching curtains. Seeing none, she pulled her lock picks out of her purse and set to work on the door, barely sparing Mike an acknowledgement as he appeared by her side. The lock clicked and she put her picks back in her purse.

"Did Gibbs teach you that?" she shook her head and swung the door open.

"Gibbs doesn't teach. You watch, you learn." Mike scoffed and plunged a hand in his pocket.

"You learn, I taught." She smiled at him and walked in to the house, Mike following a few seconds later.

Jenny looked around once she got inside, the place was quite Spartan, only a small collection of personal items were on display in the hallway, a few pictures hung on the walls but they had a very feminine feel to them. _His girlfriend must be in charge of decoration_, she mused as she made her way into the bedroom. This was where all of Will's personal items were more likely to be stored, and as she walked through the bedroom door, she knew she was correct. The floor was more like a man's house, some of his dirty clothes were still on the floor and the bed was unmade, some of the drawers were partway open and his deodorants were laying every which-way on his dresser. Yep, his girlfriend hadn't bothered to clean up in here, but that may be more to do with grief than rebelling against his laziness.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?"

"Anything that will give us more of an idea of who we are looking for." She already had an idea of who they were looking for; she just needed to 100% positive. Mike grunted and then turned to look in one of the chest of drawers by the door, while Jenny walked over to the wardrobe. She froze on the spot as she heard a quiet scuffling from inside it and she turned to Mike, who was walking slowly towards her side, having obviously heard it too. He nodded to her and grabbed one of the door handles, pulling it open sharply, revealing a terrified young blonde girl hiding inside.

"… No… Please… don't hurt me…" the small broken voice that emerged from between soft sobs, instantly set Mike at ease. He let go of the door and Jenny nodded to him as he stayed on the periphery of the young woman's vision. Jenny moved closer to her, reaching out to touch her shoulder gently. It was Decker's girlfriend, why was she in the cupboard? What was the young girl's name again? Sandra? Sarah? Sasha!

"Sasha? It's ok, we not going to hurt you. We're friends of Will's, we were at the funeral, do you remember?" The young girl nodded and hesitantly took the hand that Jenny proffered, coming out of her hiding place and looking cautiously at Mike.

"What are you doing here?"

"We don't think Will's death was an accident. We were hoping to find some clue-" The girl nodded enthusiastically, her tears coming to a halt.

"It wasn't, it wasn't an accident! I didn't realise, I should have let them do the autopsy, but he didn't want one…" Jenny held the girl's shoulders soothingly and yet firmly, trying to get her to focus on the here and now.

"Why were you hiding in there?" Sasha looked around quickly and lowered her voice.

"I hid in the wardrobe about 10 minutes ago, when I heard someone breaking in." Jenny thought it over; they hadn't been there that long. Had someone else been here just before them?

"Do you know a Jenny Shepard?" The soft question caught Jenny off guard.

"Unfortunately." Mike's first words for a while came at the best time, even if his tone was cheeky. Sasha didn't seem to notice, and carried on regardless.

"I'm supposed to give this to her. Will said he left an insurance policy in his Diner. He was going to get it up and running but…" she trailed off, a fresh wave of tears running down her cheeks. Jenny's heart went out to her, experiencing grief like this at such a young age, her previous thoughts of how she must have been with Will just for his money disappearing and kicking her conscience on their way out. _Never judge someone before you get to know them_.

"I'll get it to her. Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"My mother's, but I don't have a car." Jenny pulled out her keys and held them out to Sasha.

"Take mine. I'm sure you need it more than I do." Sasha took the keys and gave Jenny a quick hug, then took off out of the door.

"So, I suppose you'll want to use mine now that you've given away your ride?" Jenny raised her eyebrows at Mike, his giving her an inappropriate wiggle.

--

Jethro watched the house from behind the wheel of his car. Well it looked like Jenny _wasn't_ getting any from Mike, which was fortunate for the old git. Gibbs had told Mike everything about how he felt about Jenny, he had even, and he would deny this if called on it, told him about some of their moments that he held the closest to him. If Mike had been seeing Jenny, it would have been the worst betrayal. They got out of their cars and approached the house, Will's house, which was odd. Why were they here? Jenny picked the lock and then disappeared inside, leaving Mike standing at the door. The older man watched her leave and then turned to Gibbs, his eyes staring right at him. He winked at him and then waved slightly, a huge grin on his face, and then followed Jenny inside. Gibbs shook his head, he should have known his boss would know he was there; he was just annoyed that Jenny didn't. He sighed and contemplated going in after them. A Black SUV passed him just as he was about to get out of his car, if he had, it would have hit him! He stared after it as it sped around the corner, wondering if it would be worth his time to flag it down and have them charged, but his attention snapped back to the house when a young blonde came out the door and got in Jenny's car, driving off swiftly.

_That's it; I'm not staying out here when Mike is in an empty house alone with Jenny_. He might know he was there, but Mike was quite a dirty minded old man. Jethro jumped out of his car and walked across the road, fully intending to save Jenny's butt from being felt up or stared at. _You really are a hypocrite aren't you? You won't say anything to her or claim her, but you won't let someone else have a chance to either_. Jethro violently squashed the voice in his head, his liaison with Hollis still fresh in his mind. Jenny wouldn't possibly want him after he had rubbed the Army colonel in her face, and especially not after turning down her overture, back when Kid Carson had been staying with her. Maybe he should just let her move on; he should stop scaring away the suitors that queue up for her attention. He slapped the back of his own head quickly and resolved to never think that again. She was his; he just had to pluck up the courage to say something. He looked around and hoped no one was watching, and then he walked into the house, following the sound of talking.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Gibbs walked through the Spartan house of his late friend, following the muffled sound of Mike and Jenny's voices. They were too far away for him to make out what they were saying and they seemed to be coming from the bedroom… in that moment his mind went blank, then images of Mike trying to get Jenny into bed flashed before his eyes and he mentally cringed. What was with this suddenly overprotective and possessive streak? Mike wouldn't do that to him, and Jenny was free to see anyone she pleased. He shook his head, the reason for his current confusion agonisingly simple. She had been gazing at him strangely for a while now, he just hadn't thought much of it until now, when she had been more interested in watching him then paying attention to Will's funeral. Yes, he had seen her looking at him, he had even heard the moan for what it really was, and he had deluded himself in to thinking she wanted him, that his presence still affected her the way hers still affected him. She must have just had an itch and she had found Mike to scratch it, he thought, as bitterness crept up on him, colouring his view of the last few days. He channelled that emotion in to a more useful one; anger, and stormed up the corridor, walking quickly into the bedroom and finding a strange scene meeting his eyes, though thankfully far from what he had been dreading seeing.

Mike and Jenny were searching the room for something, careful to leave everything as they found it. Jenny was currently on her knees, reaching under the bed, giving Gibbs a clear view of her butt, and Mike was bent over in front of a chest of drawers, also giving Gibbs a, less appreciated, view of _his_ butt. Mike noticed him first as he was pulling items out of Will's sock drawer. He grinned at him and then cleared his throat loudly.

"Probie? What are you doing here?" Jenny pulled herself out from under the bed and twisted around, staring at Gibbs, her mouth open in shock, and moving around a little as she tried to figure out what to say.

"How did you know where I was?" ok maybe not the best thing to ask but it was something that was nagging at the back of her mind.

"I followed you from the hotel. Seriously Jen, did you really think you could sneak away from me? What the hell is going on here?"

"I'm just checking something out for Sasha." Her right eye twitched, showing him she was lying, even though he already knew.

"Bull, if that were true Mike would still be sunning himself in Mexico. What is going on here Jenny?" He watched her cast her eyes around the room and then sigh, as if resigned to the fact she couldn't get rid of him.

"I don't think Will's death was an accident and neither does Sasha. We are here looking for anything that could tell us who killed him." _Murdered? Who would want to kill a retired Agent?_ Gibbs swallowed hard, grief bubbling up in his stomach as another friend was taken before their time. How had Jenny even thought something wasn't right with Will's death when she hadn't kept in contact with him and barely acknowledged Sasha at the funeral? _Something is going on here…_ he put that thought to one side in his mind and focussed instead on what he knew about Will's death.

"Ok, so why are you looking inside the house? He died in his pool didn't he?" Jenny's eyes widened and he could practically see her rebuking herself for not checking out the pool first.

"Yes." She got up from the floor and was about to suggest he stay and look here with Mike while she went outside, but Mike beat her to it.

"Why don't you two keep looking in here, I'll go check out the pool area." He walked out swiftly, leaving Gibbs and Jenny alone in the bedroom.

--

Jenny eyed Jethro warily as she moved away from him, towards one of the cupboards that she hadn't already looked in. he was watching her, putting her on edge. She couldn't tell him why she thought Will had been killed, he wouldn't believe he had failed to kill Svetlana, and since he wasn't here to defend himself, Gibbs would think she was just passing the blame on to his friend. She couldn't tarnish Jethro's fond memory of Decker, no matter how much she hated the slimy weasel.

"So why did Sasha take your car?" Jenny looked up in surprise, but then realised he would have been watching from afar before approaching.

"She was distraught and needed to get away from here for a while, so I let her use my rental. Could you help look for anything that looks suspicious? Just in case Mike doesn't find anything." He nodded and then walked over to a cabinet and began half heartedly shifting items around, giving Jenny plenty of opportunity to cast a surreptitious glance his way.

He looked so good today, that jacket looked so soft, and the grey colour really set off his blue eyes and the contrast with his platinum hair… oh his hair. She watched his hands grip objects and softly move them aside, his strong and soft fingers flexing. She could feel the tingle of excitement in her belly, followed by the thrum of arousal. She had him all alone in a bedroom, with a very comfy looking bed in it. It wouldn't take much to seduce him, he was emotional and anger was a passionate emotion. It would be ridiculously easy to make him argue with her, and then she could kiss him and gently manoeuvre him to the bed, push him down on to it and divest him of his clothes, whilst those wonderful hands were running over her body and then they would roll around on the bed until he gave her the child she wanted to share with him… she didn't realise she had moved until she was one foot away from him and panting softly at the scent of his skin. He smelled so good, the sawdust and bourbon hitting her like a drug addict's first fix after six weeks of abstinence. He turned to look at her, surprise and a little confusion in his expression, and she saw her opportunity, leaning forwards to quickly capture his lips. Bliss. Pure bliss was how he felt, how he tasted and how he was making her feel; the sensation of his lips touching hers was just heaven.

A throat cleared loudly next to her and she sprang back a hand whipping up to her lips as she tried to pretend nothing had happened. Jethro stood stock still, his reaction to her, well, attack, had been to do nothing. Her stomach plummeted and she felt tears spring into her eyes as she realised he hadn't reacted to her kiss at all, he hadn't done anything. He didn't want her. Suddenly all of her dreams cracked and dissolved, the shards slicing her heart as they disappeared. She would never get her children, her husband or her perfect future because he didn't love her, didn't even want her. Hell, he wasn't even attracted to her; he must not be to be able to stand like a statue while she threw herself at him. _Oh god, what have I done?_

"Did you find something Mike?" she asked her voice steady, even though inside she was devastated, the realisation of his indifference to her causing a very real agony in her heart. Mike eyed her and then Jethro suspiciously before answering.

"Yeah, I actually did. It's odd that the police didn't notice it during their preliminary investigation." He walked between them and opened his hand, a small note lying on his palm. It said 'for Anatoly'. Jenny snatched it up before Jethro could recover and see it, then she stuffed it in her purse and walked out of the bedroom towards the door, hoping Jethro would not follow. She just couldn't deal with him right now, she just wanted to curl up and die.

"Thank you Mike, now let's be going. We have to tell Sasha." She took only two more steps before Jethro's angry voice followed her out.

"Anatoly? The only Anatoly I know of was the one I killed nine years ago in Paris." Jenny closed her eyes and contemplated banging her head against the door. Of course he had seen it, he was long sighted. _If only Mike had stuck it right under his nose, he wouldn't have been able to read it __**then**_. "The only person I know of who would even think of avenging his death would be his girlfriend Svetlana, the woman _you_ killed nine years ago." He walked around the doorway of the bedroom and followed her and Mike out in to the corridor. "You did kill her, didn't you Jenny?" She turned to look at him slowly, not really wanting to look at him at all, not anymore. She couldn't lie however, and she refused to pass all of the blame on to Decker.

"No. I didn't." She turned back around and stalked out of the door, Mike following, trying to get away from Gibbs.

--

Jethro didn't know what he was expecting of this trip, but he had to admit that Jenny kissing him the second they were alone hadn't made it past fantasy. The moment that her lips touched his took him by complete surprise, and her smell and the feel of her silky lips against his all conspired to keep the shock present, his body frozen in place. He had just had the presence of mind to kiss her back when a throat cleared beside them and she flew away from him, a look of horror passing over her face. He felt his heart break in response, she didn't really want him, the expression on her face said as much, she hadn't meant to kiss him she had just taken advantage of his love for her. They were all the same, he thought resentfully, the women he chose all wanted to take as much as they could get from him, and then they trampled his heart in a mad rush for the door when they had taken everything he had to offer. He shouldn't be surprised, Jenny had done it to him before so why should nine years have made any difference to her. She asked Mike a question, but Gibbs wasn't paying attention to her anymore, the look Mike gave him caught his attention. He was disappointed, why? He had no right to be, unless he really was after Jenny. Well he was welcome to her; she probably would have kissed Mike anyway if he had stayed outside watching the house for a bit longer. Mike shook his head at him reproachfully but Gibbs was past caring. All that that woman did was hurt him, he should never have come here; he should have stayed in DC.

"Yeah, I actually did. It's odd that the police didn't notice it during their preliminary investigation." Gibbs glanced at his palm and saw a note; just managing to read it before Jenny snatched it out of Mike's hand and hid it in her purse. Jethro ignored her as she turned to leave, his mind whirring. _Anatoly, that name was very familiar. _It clicked in his mind suddenly and he turned to follow Mike and Jenny out in the corridor, barely restrained fury burning up from his gut.

"Anatoly? The only Anatoly I know of was the one I killed nine years ago in Paris." He rounded the corner in time to see Jenny freeze in place. "The only person I know of who would even think of avenging his death would be his girlfriend Svetlana, the woman _you_ killed nine years ago." He paused for effect, watching her stiffen and he knew he didn't even have to ask the next question. "You did kill her, didn't you Jenny?" but he did anyway. She turned to look at him, her expression curiously clear.

"No. I didn't." her eye never twitched, she was telling the truth. She had failed to kill Svetlana and now Will was dead. She turned and walked quickly away, Mike following since she was riding with him. Gibbs growled deep in his throat, a little sigh not enough to convey the fury he was feeling towards Jenny, and yet, despite everything, he couldn't let her walk away on her own. Svetlana would be looking for her, so he may as well stay with the bait. He ignored the badly bruised part of his heart that was telling him he was following for a completely different reason.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Svetlana watched the rental car that belonged to Jennifer Shepard as it turned the corner to the beach. She smiled, now was her chance to get the revenge she craved from the woman who should have killed her, and who had been involved with the man who had killed Anatoly. Viggo remained a car length behind the rental, to prevent the pursuit being spotted. Svetlana had waited patiently for Jenny to find the note she had left by the pool and then she had asked a contact of hers to track down the rental car. They did so quickly, worth every penny she had spent buying their loyalty and now she had the woman in her sights. She was alone, just as she had figured she would be. She wriggled in her seat slightly, excited to have the woman within her grasp, but impatient. The long wait for the car to stop somewhere so they could take her to a secluded area was driving her crazy. Viggo glanced at her and gave her a wolfish grin, his suggestive looks having the desired effect on her. _Think of something else_, it said, _think of a few hours ago when we enjoyed each other by the side of the pool where we killed that slime ball_. A final act of defiance and disrespect to the man that had caused her so much emotional suffering. She placed her hand on Viggo's leg and gave it a grateful squeeze, his distraction working very well. He smirked and returned his attention to the road.

"There, she turned off. Are you ready?" he asked her, knowing the answer. Svetlana grinned and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss on the lips and then sat back as Viggo manoeuvred the car towards the pier.

The rental in front of them pulled over to the side of the pier and then stopped, a woman getting unsteadily out of it. A young blonde woman. The woman slammed the door shut and leaned back against the door, a bottle of alcohol clutched in one hand, tears streaming down her face. This was not Jenny Shepard; it was the girlfriend of the late William Decker. _This is not supposed to happen_, Svetlana growled to herself, irritation causing her to take deep breaths or risk hyperventilation, _where could she have gone?_

"Well, she gave her car to this girl, so maybe she knows where she is." Viggo suggested, seeing the anger flush Svetlana's face. She nodded shortly and climbed out of the car, quietly stalking closer to the clearly inebriated girl. The girl never heard their approach, she just knocked back more of the vodka in her hand, vacantly staring out to sea, no lotion on to protect her from the sun's rays. Viggo rounded the car from the other side and Svetlana stood to the young woman's left.

"Are you ok honey?" She asked the girl kindly, hoping to get what she needed from the girl without hurting her further. She recognised the grief, and the strength of the depression the girl was going through. She had felt it all herself, after finding Anatoly's body. The soul numbing pain when she had realised she would never hear his voice again, or touch him, to feel his embrace or listen to him tell her he loved her… to know he would never know his son. Svetlana wiped away the fresh tears that sprung in to her eyes and met the red, bloodshot and tearstained gaze of the young woman.

"No. Why would I be ok?" she slurred a little and gestured with the bottle to herself as she spoke. "Will is… gone and I'm alone!" she broke down into sobs and then knocked back more of the vodka, the liquor seeming to calm her. Svetlana looked at Viggo and then closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. Now was not the time to get emotional, _you have to get information from her, not give it_. She cleared her emotions and decided to try another approach to the young girl.

"You have a car; you can go anywhere you want." The girl scoffed and took another swig of Vodka.

"'s not my car, it's from a friend of Will's." she slurred out, pointing at the vehicle dismissively. Svetlana felt her heart racing as the tantalising taste of the girl's knowledge was dangled in front of her.

"Where is this friend? Won't she want the car back?" Svetlana put on her best syrupy sweet voice and faced the distraught young woman, hoping to garner more trust, so she would just speak her mind, rather than question why someone she didn't know was looking for the owner of the car she had been given.

"No, she's in the desert at Will's Diner." She laughed mirthlessly and wiped at her eyes. "I just wanted a good life and a good man? Is that so bad?" she pleaded, looking Svetlana in the eye for the first time. Svetlana's heart constricted and she answered quietly, the empathy clear in her voice.

"No honey, of course it isn't."

"Then why am I being punished so badly?" The young woman cried harder and then violently threw her bottle on the floor, pushing away from the car. She tried to spin around on her heel, but her shoe slipped on the broken glass. Viggo reached out to try and grab her at the same moment Svetlana did, both only catching air as the girl slipped through their fingers, falling over the edge of the pier, the resounding crack of bone loud in their ears as an innocent life was taken. Svetlana moved closer to the edge and stared at the lifeless body of a kindred spirit, the girl's anguished expression frozen on her face from the moment she landed on her head, her body weight snapping her neck.

"Come on, there's nothing more we can do here." An insistent pair of hands took hold of Svetlana's shoulders and moved her bodily from the edge of the pier towards their car. She allowed Viggo to move her, the weariness of too many innocent lives weighing down on her.

"The sooner this hunt for Mr. Oshimaida ends the better. I don't want to see death again after we kill him and Jenny." she sighed heavily and climbed into the car, Viggo grunting his agreement to her words, even if he didn't mean it. He lived for the kill, and that was one of the reasons she had first sought him out so long ago. The attraction had taken a little longer to turn from lust to a muted kind of love, but the feelings were real. She would always love Anatoly more than anyone, but she could see a happy future with Viggo. He jumped in the car on his side and started the car, driving away from the dead woman. Svetlana gripped his hand on the gear stick and looked at him.

"Wait, just park somewhere where we can see the area of the girl's death."

"Why?"

"The security team will look for her car when they realise she's evaded them. We stay here and follow them and they will track her down for us." Viggo grinned and nodded, spinning the car in a circle and taking cover in a car park belonging to a restaurant to wait.

--

Ziva leaned back in the bright red car, stretching out and looking all around her. She was bored listening to Tony's rambling about how great this city was, and how wonderful she would think it was once she had seen it all and experienced it. So far all she had experienced was a traffic jam and if that was the best LA had to offer, she couldn't wait to get back to DC. Where were Jenny and Gibbs? They hadn't heard anything from them since the funeral and Ziva was getting uneasy. What would happen if they ran in to trouble? How would they know to find them?

"Tony, I think we should find Jenny and Gibbs. Something does not feel right." He looked at her like she had grown a third eye and scoffed.

"No way! Do you want to interrupt the boss man when he's putting the moves on the Director? Life would not be worth living!"

"Why do you think they are together?"

"There is definite chemistry between them, a long ride in to the sunset, alone, would definitely give them all the time and opportunity to get it on!" he said emphatically.

"Tony, I have a bad feeling about this. Can we at least find out where her car is?" he gave her a suspicious glance and then sighed, pulling out his phone and calling the local police to ask where the Director's rental was. An odd look passed over his face and he pulled sharply off of the traffic choked road and pulled on to a different road, going towards the beach.

"The Director's rental has been involved in the death… of a woman." Ziva froze and turned to stare at him. A woman? Jenny? She sat back in her chair and gripped the sides as Tony's driving became more like her own in recklessness. It took only a few minutes to get to the scene of the crime, a police cruiser was parked ahead and two officers were standing by it, taping the area off. Tony and Ziva jumped out of their car and rushed forward, flashing their badges to get by the officers.

"What happened here?" Tony called, attracting the attention of the scene of crime officer, who approached them.

"A young woman killed herself." They spoke for a while and the identity of the woman turned out to be, not Jenny, but Sasha, William Decker's girlfriend.

"Call Gibbs, find out where they are!" Ziva demanded, thrusting his phone into his face. Tony took it off of her and reluctantly rang his boss.

--

Svetlana watched the two security detail avidly, and an idea suddenly sparked in her mind. They were calling her! She picked up her own phone and talked to the contact she had bought.

"Yes, it's Svetlana. A man is on a phone just one hundred metres from my position. Get me the location of the number he is calling."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Gibbs sighed again and sped up a little to keep up with the car in front of him, Mike's driving even worse than his, and a brief smile flashed over his face as he thought of how Jenny was faring. She had never liked his driving; it made her ill even though she didn't have motion sickness, so sooner or later she was bound to have Mike stop so she could throw up. The vindictive part of his mind greatly enjoyed thinking about that, but the part of him that acknowledged how much he loved her told him to stop being a bastard. They had stopped off at a gas station on the way to this 'insurance policy' that Will had left for them at the diner, he had decided to buy a few drinks while he was there, knowing that the diner, being in the desert and not renovated would more than likely not have water inside. Always be prepared, he thought happily, envisioning Jenny's face when she realised that she would have to ask him for one of the bottled drinks he had bought, since neither she nor Mike had had the presence of mind to buy some themselves. He was going to enjoy this trip. His smile was quickly wiped off of his face however when he remembered that this was a serious situation.

Svetlana Chernitskaya was alive and seeking revenge. She had already killed Will and was now after Jenny and him. Well he was tempted to leave and let her deal with her own mistake by herself, she should have known better to leave her target alive. She had lied to him, to both him and Will that night when they had all reported success. If she had just told him he could have helped her before someone got hurt, but no, she had decided to run away and keep it to herself and now because of her selfishness Will was dead. Gibbs gripped the steering wheel harder, wringing it angrily. He really hoped he got rid of all his aggression in the car, even if his steering wheel is completely bent out of shape. If not, the frustration that was building inside him might cause him to explode in a flurry of activity, causing him to strangle Jenny, or push her up against the nearest wall, table, counter, hell, he'd even take her on the floor. _Where did that thought come from?_ He was angry with her; she had walked all over his feelings for the last time! He was _not_ going to give in to the temptation of letting her in again. He was _not_ going to give her another chance to have a life with him. He was _not_ going to imagine her naked body wrapped around his, rolling around with him until she was on top and in complete control of him. He was _not_ going to think about running Mike off the road so he could drag Jenny from his car in to his, so he could have her on the back seat.

Arousal coiled inside him and he felt his groin become tight, the air in the car hotter and more stifling than it had been just a few minutes ago. The car bumped suddenly, nearly catapulting him out of his seat and he realised he had driven off the road, his concentration temporarily migrating south. He spun the wheel, taking the car back on to the road, muttering angrily under his breath about evil fantasy women, and then he pressed down the accelerator, quickly catching up to Mike and the Devil woman.

--

Mike followed the directions Jenny had given him, reading them out from the little paper the girl Sasha had given her, the otherwise silent journey seeming to take forever. The desert just seemed endless and he had to admit, the heat was beginning to get to him. There was also the small problem of Jenny's hostility which radiated from the passenger side and was almost enough to make him consider driving with his head out of the window, just to be as far away from her as possible when she explodes. The sight he had walked in on had been a little shocking at first, he had been gone only a minute after all, but he was beginning to realise alerting them to his presence had been a terribly bad thing. As soon as he had done so, Jenny had sprung away from Jethro and they had become openly aggressive towards one another. Jethro had at first stood still like a statue, a strange haunted and pain filled look on his face and Mike had to admit, the thought of '_what the hell is wrong with you? Kiss her!_' had definitely passed through his mind. Jenny on the other hand had worn a look of such tormented devastation that he had been ready to disembowel Gibbs before he even really knew what the hell was going on between them. She had quickly slipped behind what he knew to be a professional mask, in an attempt to keep it together and hide from Gibbs what his reaction had done to her.

Mike may not be the best person to consult when it came to relationships, but he did know how to fix problems in the bluntest and most straightforward way possible. He was going to sort these two out if it was the last thing he would ever do. He smiled to himself sadistically, when they found this insurance policy he would take off in his car so they had to share one on the way back. His grin widened and he looked over at the other side of the car, straight into a pair of inquisitive green eyes. He did his best to smother his grin and looked straight ahead at the road ahead.

"What?" she asked, a little testily.

"Nothing, nothing, why?"

"Why were you smiling?" she asked again, not to be put off the trail for an answer to her question. He sighed and wondered at his plan, was he really going to sentence Gibbs to a lifetime in her company? Hell yes! He was just as stubborn and infuriating and they deserved each other.

"Is it against your new NCIS rules for someone to smile at you?" she fell silent, the dig that her position in NCIS made the Agency somehow less than what it was in his day, just because she was a woman, being taken to heart. She usually let such comments pass over her head, but she had suffered such a blow to her self-esteem and trust that she couldn't ignore it. Mike felt a little voice in the back of his head telling him he might have gone a little too far, but he squashed it. Jethro would have her feeling better in no time.

--

Jenny looked out of her window as the diner finally came into view and tried to stop herself from giving into the despair she was feeling. Everything she wanted from life she had achieved, or so she had thought until she had reached the top of her career and realised that she was empty inside. Her lonely, cold house was too depressing to return to in the afternoon, so much so that she stayed at the office for far longer than she needed to. She had no one to share it with and the only real chance at love she'd had was with Jethro, until she walked away. She deserved this, the desperation to be with him, to not be able to think of being with anyone but him and the deep need to have his children. She deserved to have all of it thrown in her face as he rejected her and that was what he had done.

She exited the car and walked swiftly inside the run down diner, the dusty interior sparsely furnished with old furniture and strange pictures. Mike was right behind her, and she somehow hoped Jethro would decide his time would be better spent staying outside so she could mope in peace. Her hopes were dashed when he entered the dusty atmosphere moments later.

"Well, this isn't what I expected."

"Did you think he would give you written directions on how to complete your job?" Jethro scathing words cut her deeply, but she refused to let him see it. She carefully kept her face neutral and turned away from him. His phone began to ring just then and everyone froze for a moment, anticipating an attack, before relaxing and moving away to give him the semblance of privacy.

"Yeah Gibbs."

"_Boss? Where are you?_"

"Why are you calling me DiNozzo?"

"_It's the Directors rental; it was involved in an accident._"

"Well she wasn't in it." Gibbs said dismissively.

"_No boss I know, but William Decker's girlfriend, Sasha was. She's dead._" Gibbs stared at Jenny; his expression telling her what he was hearing was not good. "_Where are you, boss?_"

"We are fine DiNozzo, enjoy your break." He hung up and slipped his phone into his pocket. "Sasha is dead. How many more people are going to die, Jen?" he walked to the other end of the diner to brood in silence, leaving Jenny and Mike to sort out the secret message.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Gibbs stood by the front door of the Diner, looking out in to the dusty wasteland, the harsh sunlight reflecting off of the sand to almost burn an after image into his retinas, waiting for the inevitable attack. If Svetlana had gotten to Sasha, then chances are she told her where to find them, so he had to be on his guard. She would be on her way to kill them, probably with backup. He had secured the area, as much as it could be, which meant moving any objects in the road that could be used as cover for the enemy, including parking the cars around the back of the diner. Inside he had pulled the tables close to the doors to herd the assailants in to one place, the bottle neck ensuring they could be picked off one at a time. It left almost no cover for them though, so they would have to just spread out a little and hope they killed Svetlana and any people she brought with her before they could fire their weapons.

The work had helped to keep his mind off of Jenny, who had been looking at the pictures that were hung up in the diner with Mike, although they seemed to have gotten bored with that now. Jethro turned around to see what they were doing now, and saw Mike was pulling the pictures out of the frames and stacking them in the fire place, ready to burn. Annoyance spread through him as he watched them disrespect the property and the memory of one of his friends, prompting him to step away from the door and walk the short distance to them.

"What do you think you are doing, Jen? Is it not enough for you to get the guy and his girlfriend killed? Do you have to destroy his memory too?" Jenny flinched and avoided his eyes, instead she looked at a piece of paper that she held in her hand, which she apparently wasn't adding to the pile.

"No. I'm trying to destroy the insurance policy so Svetlana can't read it." her voice was carefully controlled and quiet, as if she didn't trust it to stay steady. Gibbs looked at the pile of photos in mild disbelief and a little bit of pride. It seemed that Will had never lost his sneaky side after all.

"This is the insurance policy?" Jenny nodded and held up the piece of paper for him to see.

"Yes, the dates were wrong. It was in the code we used back in Paris. I got the numbers down and now we are destroying the originals, so please stand back." he did as he was told and Mike lit a fire, the orange flames catching quickly, making the pictures curl and burn. Gibbs watched for a moment before trying to order his thoughts. This whole mess just didn't feel right to him. He was missing something, something big, and Jenny knew what it was. He folded his arms and stared at her, bringing the full weight of the Gibbs glare on her. She pretended not to notice his sudden avid attention, but he could tell his glare was working.

"You know, some things just aren't adding up for me. Why would Will have an insurance policy about Svetlana? She was your target, not his. Did he figure out that you lied about completing the hit? Is this all from stalking the woman you should have killed?" Jenny bristled, whatever control she had gained over her emotions snapped, and she turned her hurt and angry eyes on him.

"She wasn't my target!" Gibbs scoffed, he _knew_ that she was! What game was she playing?

"The _hell_ she wasn't! I was there when our targets were shared out, I know who got who!" Jenny shook her head, her hands trembling with rage. _Why did he never listen?_

"We swapped targets, I killed his but he didn't bother with mine." _The audacity of the woman!_ Gibbs pulled a face, disgusted with what he was hearing. Jenny had never struck him as the type to speak ill of the dead, but this slander against Decker was just too much to bear.

"Oh that's rich Jenny, blaming Will while he isn't here to defend himself!" Jenny stood up and faced him, looking him in the eye. Her eye betrayed her lies, so she would show him that she had nothing to hide.

"It's the truth! Tom Morrow knows, call him! Better yet, just look at the case file, it's all there!" _No twitch, she was telling the truth,_ he thought incredulously. What the hell was going on? What had happened right under his nose in Paris that he had missed?

"Why would he swap with you? It makes no sense!"

"He said he had been seen so he needed to swap with me, I don't know why he didn't kill her. Will reported his target dead, and then said I had failed to kill Svetlana. The only reason I still have a job in NCIS is that I could correctly say how I had killed the target and Will couldn't. He was kept behind in Paris as punishment and then reported her dead, yet she is still here. What does that tell you about dear William?" she continued to glare at him, hoping he would believe her but fortifying herself for the chance that he wouldn't. She couldn't help but feel crushed that it had taken so much for him to really listen to her; his stubborn streak just wouldn't accept that he was wrong. Will had been a good friend to him, but she had been his lover. Why would he choose to believe Will over her?

Gibbs ran a hand over his face to pull his thoughts together. Jenny was telling him that she had swapped targets with Decker and that she had completed the hit, but Will hadn't. It just didn't make sense! Will was a pro, why would he mess up a kill? What possible reason could there be for him to screw up so badly that it would come back to haunt them all, nine years later? Well he was dead now, so they would probably never know.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked quietly, noticing her demeanour soften instantly in response to his words.

"You were friends; I knew you wouldn't believe me. Better to think the probie couldn't pull the trigger than the pro decided not to." She shrugged as she spoke and then steadily looked at the fire, hoping to avoid seeing the disappointment in his eyes, and the possible resentment. Gibbs sighed, not sure what he should be doing. This mess wasn't as clear cut as it had first seemed. Jenny was as much a victim of this as he was; it was Will that had brought this on them. Jethro grimaced when he remembered some of the things he had said to Jenny in anger, wondering how he could have been so heartless. She had suffered his foul mood and accusations in silence, yet he knew that she would usually have shouted right back. Why the sudden submissiveness?

"It's not your fault Jen, you know that right?" Jenny closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath, before opening them again and sighing. She straightened up and looked him in the eye once more. He had to understand.

"It is though. If I hadn't swapped with Will, Svetlana would be dead and he and Sasha would be alive. There's no point denying it either, I know better." She cast a forlorn look at the embers of the photos. Gibbs took a step closer to her and reached out a hand to her shoulder, resting it there gently.

"Jen, no one could have predicted that she would come after us." He spoke softly in an effort to break her out of the depression he had put her in.

"I could." She whispered so softly he had to lean closer to catch what she said.

"How?"

"It's what I would do, if I lost… what she lost." She looked up into his eyes and the short distance between them seemed to charge with electricity.

"What did she lose?"

"The love of her life, Anatoly." The man he had killed, the one he had been assigned because Jen was assigned to kill his girlfriend Svetlana. Poetic justice, in very bad taste. The unspoken words were what struck Jethro the sharpest, the acknowledgement that Jenny thought of him like Svetlana had thought of Anatoly, as the love of her life. A small smirk began to play on his lips, the one that he knew drove her mad and he was gratified to see her Emerald orbs flicker down to his mouth, her tongue just darting partway out of her mouth to lick her lips. Gibbs felt the space between them get much hotter, their eyes roving over each other's faces, which were mere centimetres apart. Their bodies began to react to the atmosphere and they unconsciously drifted closer to one another, their heads aligning to what they already knew to be the perfect angle, for the perfect kiss.

"Jenny..." Gibbs whispered her name, their eyes closing before their mouths met, lips fusing together, and moans of pleasure at the simple contact becoming loud in the quiet diner. He felt her wrap her arms around his neck and shoulders, holding him fast to the kiss, which was becoming more passionate with each passing second. Jethro used both his hands to grasp her waist, pulling her tight to his body, while slowly moving her back into the wall. She groaned into his mouth when her back hit the solid surface and he took advantage of her expression of joy, by slipping his tongue past her lips. She returned the favour, the kiss escalating from chaste to intense as their tongues duelled and their moans grew louder and more frenzied, caution being well and truly cast to the wind. Jethro ground his groin into Jenny's, enjoying the weakening of her knees and the incredible urge he knew they both had, to pick her up and have her legs wrap around his waist.

--

Mike had turned his back for only a few minutes as Jenny and Jethro had argued over what was happening and whose fault it was, his plan to run off with one car and leave them to share the other suddenly not looking so great. What if they really didn't get on enough to actually care if the other was in the car when they drove home? He had decided that he would try to coerce them into sharing a car voluntarily instead, and had turned around to put his plan into motion when he realised that they were already well in to the process of making up. _I guess they don't need my help after all_, he thought, slightly dumbfounded. He watched as Gibbs pressed Jenny back into the wall and then lifted her up, her legs wrapping around him, their moans loud enough he could hear them over the other side of the diner. If he wasn't careful, he might get to see them share much more than a car and that was something he just did _not_ want to witness. Mike shook his head at their antics and decided that he had best make himself useful, as far away from them as possible. He picked up one of the drinks that Jethro had bought back at that petrol station and went to stand by the front door, just in case the enemy appeared while the two love birds were getting reacquainted. There were a few things that Mike couldn't stand, and one of those things was being caught with his pants down. It was a valuable lesson that Gibbs seemed to need to learn, he just didn't want him to have to learn it in such dire circumstances. Taking a swig of the drink, Mike leaned against the door jamb and looked out into the sandy horizon, only to be brought back to the here and now by the approach of a car along the road towards the diner. Mike stood up straight and watched the car speed up the road, another two cars becoming visible behind it. The enemy was here.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Svetlana tapped her foot impatiently as they sat in the SUV outside a hotel, waiting for the rest of her hired men to come out and get in the back. Some of them were staying at a different hotel, so they were taking another car to the coordinates that her contact had given her. She huffed angrily; the security team had set off already to meet up with Jenny so her plan to get her alone had failed completely. There was no way they would be able to overtake them and get to the coordinates first, especially since her hit men were taking so damn long to get ready. She had been waiting for nearly ten minutes and they were only just walking out of the door towards them. Viggo gave her knee a quick squeeze and then shouted at the men to hurry up and get in the car, causing a sudden flurry of activity from them. Viggo had a reputation back in Russia, and these boys knew about it. They knew he wouldn't be opposed to putting a bullet in them if they annoyed him, since just killing something, friend or foe, made Viggo happy. They piled in the car and Viggo set off, not even giving them time to buckle in. He laughed at the looks on their faces causing Svetlana to smile in response. Viggo's laughter never failed to put her in a good mood and right then, she really needed to smile.

The day's events had been about as far from her plans as they could get, her hopes of finding Jenny and killing her quickly being dashed almost from the word go. Now it seemed that she would have to send in the hit men and hope that they could deal with whatever Jenny's security team could throw at them. She settled back in her seat and sighed, watching the city pass by her window, hoping it would turn in to desert soon.

--

Ziva gritted her teeth and tried to take a deep breath, the heat and the sand all conspiring to dry out her throat and stop her from being able to blink without pain. The last drink she'd had, was a glass of water by the poolside, and she was deeply regretting coming out in to the desert without some form of liquid. Tony sighed next to her, obviously feeling the same way she did and he checked the petrol tank meter again. Empty apparently, although they were still moving, the car not giving up yet. It must know they were on a very important errand and that delay might mean the difference between life and death. Tony was just picking up his phone to call McGee and ask if he could point them in the direction of the nearest petrol station, when Ziva spotted a sign up ahead, proclaiming gas and cold drinks. She must be in heaven.

"Tony, there is a sign." She pointed it out to him and he put his phone back in his pocket, relieved.

"I see it; finally we can have a cold drink! I think I'm going to be sucking lozenges for weeks after this trip." Ziva nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with him. It seemed like the desert knew they had shirked their duty and was punishing them before Gibbs could, although Ziva could quite honestly say she wasn't sure which punishment would be worse.

Tony pulled in and parked in front of a pump, jumping out to fill the tank as fast as possible so he could go choose some drinks. Ziva sat in the car quietly, watching the other patrons to make sure no one was even thinking of stealing their car. Tony reappeared with an arm full of bottled drinks, not taking any chances since they may be out in the hostile environment of the desert for a while. He passed one to Ziva when he approached her window and she opened it immediately, taking a long drink from it. Tony got back in the car and did the same, putting the other bottles in the glove compartment. He started the car and they pulled out in to the road, setting off towards the coordinates McGee had given them, hoping Gibbs wouldn't be angry with them for tracking them down. Ziva watched out of her mirror as two SUV's came in to view in the distance behind them and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. One of those was the same one that had shown up at the funeral. She watched it for a few moments before pointing it out to Tony.

"Tony there are two SUV's following us." He nodded and checked his mirrors.

"Yeah I know. I saw them at the petrol station. Don't worry, we can get there before them, they don't stand a chance against _this_ car." Ziva threw him a doubtful look. Just because the car had a stripe, it didn't mean it could go faster or handle sand better.

"Perhaps I should drive?" Tony blanched at the thought of being subjected to her driving and then tried to look positive, so she had no reason to wrestle the steering wheel from him, which he knew she was dying to do.

"Err… no Ziva, I've got it. We'll be there in no time."

--

Mike didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he could see a car with two of Gibbs' team in it and two SUV's behind them, _right_ behind them. He turned from the door and shouted across the diner at Jenny and Jethro, who seemed to have moved from the wall to behind a counter, their moans and groans coming just a little bit faster. He hoped to hell that they hadn't actually started something behind there, because they were about to get some guests, both invited and not invited. They didn't have time to put clothes back on.

"Hey, we got company. Put her down and get your gun out Probie, your team is coming in hot!" he watched in amusement as they both suddenly appeared with clothes almost straight and smooth, the only indication of their rough and tumble being the state of their hair, which was a little bit hectic. Apparently they had just been indulging in some heavy petting, which was good. They wouldn't have to explain any strange smells or blushes to the more worldly member of the team once he entered the diner. Jenny gave him a shy smile, completely in counterpoint to her usual gruff no nonsense self, who couldn't care less what people thought. She obviously had forgotten that he was there, which brought a sly grin to his own face. He readied his gun and then remarked upon their absence.

"You two were back there for quite a while. Anything I should know about?" he gave Jenny a wolfish grin and she rolled her eyes at him, moving up to the door to see Tony and Ziva's car speed further up the road, getting closer to the diner with each second, the SUV's not falling behind. Mike then turned to Jethro. "I trust you know what you are doing, because I could show you if you've forgotten." He waggled his eyebrows, his eyes showing how close he was to laughter.

"Mike!" Jethro protested with a smirk on his lips at the old man's expression of his blessing. It might not be what you would expect as a blessing, but Mike wasn't the kind of guy that stuck to the accepted ways of doing things, so you really had to know Mike to see it. Jethro thought of Mike more as his father than the old git who really was, except this father was a really great friend too, so his blessing meant a lot to him. He pulled out his gun as he was told and stood next to Jenny at the door, mentally urging Tony and Ziva to ditch the car and run to the diner, before the SUV's stopped and got a shot off.

--

Svetlana pushed the clip in to her gun and pulled off the safety, putting it carefully on the dash board and then readying Viggo's weapon for him, so he could jump out of the car with his gun as soon as the car stopped. The red car in front of them had been ridiculously easy to find and follow, the distinctive white stripe allowing them to distinguish it from the other red cars they had encountered, although they hadn't seen another car for quite some time since entering the desert. They had recognised the car from the beach, when they had pulled up to investigate Sasha's death, so they had known they were following the right car. Why bother trying to follow some vague coordinates when there was another car going the same way which they could just follow? At first they had tried to stay out of their field of vision, so they wouldn't realise they were being followed, but getting petrol at the station had put them behind, and they had caught up to them too quickly before they saw them, so there had been no point in trying to stay away. The little red car had attempted to lose them, but they had failed, the small car was not really meant for sandy terrain, while the big SUV's were designed for off road travel.

Svetlana cast a glance into the back, watching the hit men get their own guns ready and then she leaned over to Viggo, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He was hoping to get in the thick of it almost immediately and she had to admit, she was scared for him. She was going to follow after the men had gone in. Part of her was not really ready to put her life on the line, an image of her sons face stopping her from running full pelt up the road by Viggo's side. She would do it though, for Anatoly she would go in there and make sure Jenny died, and then she could go after Mr. Oshimaida with Viggo and the other survivors. She put a hand on Viggo's leg as the car came to a stop, preventing him from leaving the car without giving her some attention. He looked across to her and took in her expression. She was worried. He grinned at her and took her face in his hands, pulling her in for a deep kiss. The hit men all filed out of the car, shooting at the red car in front and rushing up to the diner, but Svetlana didn't care. She had a terrible sense of foreboding about this and she didn't want to let Viggo go. He pulled back from the kiss and picked up his gun, jumping out of the vehicle and rushing towards the rest of the men. Svetlana watched for a moment, making sure he made it alright and then she got out of the car, gun in hand and started towards the diner herself.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thank you Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, HesMines and Hermione's Shadow for your reviews!

"Come on, _come on!_" Jenny whispered, as she stood at the door to the diner, watching the progress of the little red car, Mike and Jethro on either side of her. There was no way Tony and Ziva's car could outrun the SUV's, but she had to believe that they would find some way to make it to safety. They were both resourceful on their own, together they should be able to find their way out of any situation, but really, what could they do? The SUV was right up behind them, practically slamming into their rear bumper, which meant they couldn't slow down to stop and get out of the car, which presented another problem. If they couldn't stop, they would drive right into the diner, probably killing themselves on impact, and maybe everyone inside the building too. Jenny shook her head hopelessly, as she watched them desperately try to stay ahead on the more powerful vehicles behind. She was putting nearly everyone she cared for at risk, she should never have let Jethro come to LA. If he hadn't insisted, Tony and Ziva would be back at the hotel, unaware of what was going on. Safe. She should have kept this mission to herself, she could have handled the situation alone and no one else would have been in danger.

"What are they _doing_?" Jethro whispered, mostly in fear but slightly in awe, which was very unusual. Jenny refocused on the here and now at his words and her eyes widened at their courage.

"Something crazy." Mike chuckled.

--

Ziva looked behind her, the faces of Russian men glaring at her from the front seats of the SUV, which was so close she could see what colour their eyes were. She had been studying them for any expression of fear, but so far there had been none. These men were professionals, and they enjoyed what they did. There would be no reasoning with them, so she made a mental note not to let either of her bosses try to negotiate, and end up falling for a bluff. Those men had a job to complete, and they would go to any lengths to finish it. She finally tore her gaze from the men behind her and turned to Tony.

"We are stuck." Tony didn't lift his gaze from the road ahead, but he did give her a sharp, annoyed nod.

"I can see that." Ziva swallowed and watched the diner get larger and larger before them. They couldn't stay in the car, or they would die.

"There is only one thing we can do, Tony." He nodded again, this time more sedately, almost resigned. He had thought of it too, he just didn't want to voice it and force her to risk her life in such a dicey way, but as she said, there was only that one thing they had left to consider.

"I know, I know. You first, go when I tell you to." Ziva made a noise of agreement and unbuckled her seat belt, pulling it back so it rerolled in the mechanism. The last thing she wanted was to be caught in it. Then she reached down between them, pressing the release on Tony's too. He drove straight at the diner, no longer looking in his mirrors to see where the enemy was, since they were directly behind them. He knew that the moment he threw on the brakes the SUV behind would slam into him, so he and Ziva were doing the only thing they could, they were preparing to abandon their vehicle. He cast a quick glance at his partner and she put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Do not wait any longer than two seconds, Tony." He nodded, knowing as she did that the Russians would stop once they saw her jump from the car. Then they would just jump out of the back of the SUV's and gun them down. They had to do this fast so they would have time to make it to the diner on foot. He nodded to Ziva, and then pushed on her waist.

"Go, go!" she didn't look back as she threw herself out of the car and clear of the path of the SUV's behind them. Tony dropped down a gear and then threw himself out of the car too, the slower speed on his car having the desired effect. Very loud sounds of glass smashing, metal impacting on metal and the screech of brakes erupted behind him, telling him the vehicles had met. Tony didn't stop to watch however, and as soon as he finished his very painful roll in the sand, he threw himself up and into a dead sprint for the diner, Ziva crossing in to his line of vision seconds later. The two of them pushed themselves hard to reach the relative safety of the rundown building, trying to block out the sounds of opening car doors behind them. The speeding bullets and spray of sand from near misses they couldn't ignore though, and they were forced to weave as they approached the building, to avoid getting shot.

Answering gunshots from inside the diner forced the hail of hostile bullets to slow, as the Russians took cover behind the wreckage of cars and the other buildings. For a moment it seemed like they would stop altogether, but just then Tony gasped as he felt a searing pain in his calf muscle, and he almost fell face first into the sand, but the adrenalin from the chase gave him the strength needed to right himself and press on. He could tell that the pain was to one side of his calf, so he was more than likely just winged, but it still hurt like hell. The door of the diner was thrown open so they could sprint through without stopping, and they did so, Ziva first and then Tony, neither looking back as they entered the diners' dark interior.

--

Jethro watched as his Agents suddenly jumped from the vehicle, which was going at 60mph at least. They landed hard in the sand, but since it was softer than tarmac, with more give, they rolled and then jumped up, heading for the diner in a flat out sprint. The SUV ploughed into the abandoned red car, the front smashing against the rear of the sports car, sending the occupants of the SUV flying and stopping its advance. The red car was totalled, but the SUV, which was made of sterner stuff, seemed relatively undamaged. The other SUV didn't do what he hoped it would though, which was to swerve drastically to avoid hitting the other car. Instead, it simply stopped where it was, and unloaded its passengers, the driver staying in his seat with the blonde by his side. Svetlana. Jethro narrowed his eyes and readied his gun. The Russians were getting out their guns and Tony and Ziva hadn't made it in yet. Jenny and Mike put through a window each and then began laying down cover fire, whilst Gibbs opened the door, allowing his Agents to enter the diner without slowing. Once they were in, he closed the door and over turned a table in front of it, so the men outside couldn't get in very easily. Tony's leg was bleeding, his trouser leg already sticking to him and he dropped to his knees as soon as he stopped running. Ziva sat beside him and lifted the material from the wound, nodding to Gibbs once she saw it was just a flesh wound. Jethro nodded back and then stood next to Jenny, firing at the men outside. There were quite a few of them, more than he would have expected to be sent after one woman, but then Svetlana probably realised Jenny wasn't alone and reorganised her force accordingly.

"Report?" he asked, not caring who gave it, just that he got one.

"Ten armed men, one woman." Mike answered swiftly, his skills not so out of practice that he couldn't surprise the younger ones with his observation skills. "One of the men was killed, or is out of action at least, from the crash. The woman is sticking close to one of the men in particular, the tall dark haired one hiding behind that building there." He gestured to the closest building and then ducked, just in time, as the plank of wood where his head had been exploded in to a hail of splinters as a bullet tore through it. "Shit!" he moved down a window and returned fire, the idiot who had fired at him screaming in pain for a moment, before cutting off sharply in death. "Nine armed men, one woman." He amended, grinning at Gibbs and then returning to watching for an opportunity to shoot someone.

"Are you two ok?" Jenny asked, turning from the window to the Agents on the floor. Tony and Ziva nodded and picked themselves up, pulling out their side arms and taking cover by the windows where they could shoot. Ziva had bandaged up Tony's leg as well as she could, using cut off bits of his trousers, and Jenny could see blood showing through already. He must have quite a deep groove in his leg, for it to bleed like that.

"What is going on? We were away from you for only a few hours and you have gotten yourselves into a siege!" No one commented, and Ziva's question was soon forgotten as some of the men outside began to let loose with automatic weapons, streams of bullets entering the diner easily, causing everyone to throw themselves to the floor in an effort to avoid being torn up. Gibbs pulled Jenny under his body, trying to stop her from being hurt by the bullets or the flying wood and glass, his focus solely on her for a moment.

Unfortunately, a moment was all the Russians needed. They ran full pelt towards the diner, whilst Viggo and another kept up the automatic fire, and threw themselves against the door, the table behind it screeching as its metal frame scraped against the debris littering the floor. They opened it enough to fire through and blindly let loose a torrent of bullets. Everyone on the floor shuffled out of range, picking their weapons back up and shooting at any enemy they could see.

Mike crawled towards the door and put a slug through the arm that was holding the gun, not staying in one place long enough to see whoever was behind that guy take his place. He dived across to the other side of the door and began picking off the crowd that was building up to get through the door. Jethro jumped up and dragged Jenny over to the counter they had been making out behind earlier, not giving her chance to get up and walk. He didn't want to waste the seconds she would need to right herself. She sat up once he let go of her and she elbowed him gently.

"I can walk Jethro." she said, loud enough so he could hear over the sound of gunfire, but quiet enough so no one else could hear her and get a fix on their location. Jethro just shook his head fondly and then they both poked their heads out from behind their cover, sending a few bullets into the men in the doorway, who were pushing on the door again.

Tony and Ziva both crawled away from the door, towards the cluster of tables that blocked the back door. Even though they weren't planning on leaving, the prospect of the solid cover that so many tables would provide, made them crawl the long distance, not stopping to see if the enemy was through the door yet. Tony arrived first, and he pushed two of the tables over to block them from view, making sure the flat surfaces were together so the wood was thicker and harder to penetrate. Ziva did the same with the other two tables, the legs sticking out annoyingly towards them and away from them, but the safety it gave them made it easier to fire at the Russians.

The table blocking the front door screeched again, and this time the door fell off its hinges, allowing the men to throw it over the table and pour into the diner. The first two through the door were killed almost instantly, as all five NCIS employees filled them full of lead. The next man got a few shots off at Tony and Ziva, as he used the men in front as a human shield; his bullets however merely impacted the wooden defences and went no further. He fell, allowing the rest of the men to push through. Five men entered at once and they let loose at the tables. Ziva and Tony dropped low to the ground as their tables splintered and the bullets began passing through, one slicing Ziva's arm as it passed. She hissed but ignored the injury as she had been trained to do in Mossad, and she returned fire as much as she could, her determination turning to dread as her weapon clicked, telling her she had no ammo left. She froze suddenly, and to her time stood still as she heard Tony cry out in pain. She turned to him and her horror grew as a large red stain blossomed on his stomach, growing rapidly as she watched. She pulled him over to her and pressed her hands on to the wound, trying to stop the blood from flowing, as her tears blurred her vision. _No, this is not happening!_ She thought desperately, her attention focussed on him so intently, she didn't realise the bullets had stopped impacting their hiding place.

Mike diced one of the five men, and one of the others turned to him furiously, peppering the ground near him with bullets. Mike dodged out of the way of the slugs, throwing himself sideways, towards one of the counters. The gunman watched as the old man fell behind the counter, and he made sure he wouldn't be getting back up again. The Russian watched the legs of the old man in satisfaction, as they juddered and then lay still.

Jenny and Gibbs saw the five men enter the diner, and they began to fire at them, attracting their attention and stopping them from shredding Tony and Ziva's hiding place. They returned the fire, one of them dropping where he was from injuries. Jenny cried out as a bullet impacted her chest, and the agony flared up as the bullet passed through her ribs and then out of her back. She tried to ignore it, but it was too much. She fired off a few more rounds until she had no ammo left, taking out two more men, and then she fell back, clutching her chest and gritting her teeth to stop herself from distracting Jethro.

Gibbs concentrated on the two surviving men, who were turning to him, and in that moment he realised he was the only one left who was shooting. He squashed the thoughts that were manifesting about how everyone around him had died, and he tried not to give in to the urge to take Jenny in his arms and try to stop the bleeding. If he did that he would be signing her death warrant, as those men would simply walk over and kill them both. No, he had to focus on them. Gibbs ducked back out, around the counter and fired, killing one of the men, the last one losing his nerve and trying to flee. Gibbs put a bullet in the back of his head and then dropped his gun, knowing he had no ammunition left. They were all dead. He turned to Jenny, his heart constricting as he watched her bite her lip to stop herself screaming, and he replaced her hands over the wound with his own.

"Jenny, Jen. Listen to me." She opened her eyes slightly and tried to look at him to show she was listening, but she couldn't keep them open. "Hold on, their all dead now, I'm going to call an ambulance. Just hold on for me Jen." She nodded weakly and Gibbs searched for his phone, trying to work quickly and efficiently, but the click of a gun behind his head made him freeze with the phone in his hand.

"Oh, they aren't _all_ dead." a female voice said, anger and sorrow colouring her words. "_Jenny_ isn't getting any help. I came here to kill her, and I'm going to watch her die." She moved around so she could see them more clearly and then smiled at the sight of Jenny gasping for breath, one of her lungs filling with blood. "Well, that's Will and now you, Jenny. I know you were supposed to kill me, Will told me. Now I want to know where Mr. Oshimaida is. _Now_!" she shouted, tears splashing down her face as she cast a look towards the doorway, one of the bodies there was causing the tears to come faster.

"I am Mr. Oshimaida." Replied Gibbs, his eyes hard as he stared down her gun barrel. "I know you are going to kill us now, so let me ask you something; why didn't Will kill you?" She sniffed and glared at him, sneering as she replied.

"He decided to screw me instead." Gibbs raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected that, surely Will wasn't that stupid, but then why would she lie?

"I thought all of this… 'revenge' was for Anatoly." Gibbs said, remembering the note she had left at Will's house.

"It is! He was supposed to be at my hotel room when I lured Will back there. He was supposed to kill him, but he wasn't there. You killed him!" she spat, and then raised her gun at him, preparing to fire. Gibbs knew he had no bullets left; no backup either, since everyone was dead. So he held on to Jenny and watched Svetlana's finger squeeze the trigger. A gunshot echoed through the diner, and then a loud thump as a body hit the floor.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Gibbs watched Svetlana as she raised her gun to him and squeezed the trigger. A gunshot echoed through the diner and Svetlana's eyes widened for a second, but Gibbs felt no pain. Blood began to pour down her shirt and then her grip on her weapon slackened, letting it fall through her fingers as her body slumped to the floor with a loud thump. Jethro reached back to Jenny and gripped her hand, forcing her eyes to stay open. Her breathing was laboured and he could hear a constant liquid like gurgle. She looked at him and tried to smile but failed, her eyes rolling back and her head lolling limply to the side, the unbearable pain shutting down her body. Gibbs looked around for his rescuer, hoping that at least one of his team had made it through. Mike stumbled into view, a gun in his hand, the side of his head caked with blood and his eyes unfocussed. He slid down the counter next to Gibbs as soon as he reached him and put his head in his hands. He had hit his head when he had dived for cover and knocked himself unconscious. He was pretty sure he had a concussion too, since he had aimed for the blondes head, but hit her heart instead.

"What did I tell you about leaving those loose ends, probie?" he asked. His voice was slurring slightly and he wobbled where he sat. Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief, Mike would be ok, but Jenny wouldn't and he still didn't know what had happened to Tony and Ziva.

"Jenny! Come on stay with me!" he shook her slightly, but she didn't move. He pressed down on her wound and fought back the desperate desire to just pick her up and run to the nearest hospital. Mike crawled over and took the phone from Gibbs' side.

"Gibbs! Help! Someone!" Ziva's nearly hysterical voice cut through the diner and Jethro had to fight the impulse to ignore her. Jenny was slipping away right in front of him and Ziva wanted him to just leave her side to come see what was wrong over there? He growled angrily and dragged Mike across the small space between them, and then stood up to look around for Ziva's location.

"Look after Jenny, Mike." Mike nodded and Gibbs turned away from Jenny's limp body. "Ziva? Where are you?" he called, knowing that he could be of no more use to Jenny, but he could still help his team.

"By the back door. Hurry! Tony… he is bleeding… and he… he is not breathing!" Gibbs was already halfway around the counter and walking towards her voice, while Mike phoned for an ambulance and pressed on Jenny's wound. He saw the devastation the fire fight had wrought in the few moments it had lasted. Almost every surface in the diner was riddled with bullet holes, if not completely destroyed. The door was lying in the middle of the floor and there were bodies everywhere. He cast his eyes around for the back door and saw the tables that Ziva and Tony had used for cover. He could see straight through them. He rushed over and his breath caught as he watched Ziva try to give Tony mouth to mouth, but she was crying too much to get a deep breath into his lungs. Blood coated the floor and the both of them, from where Ziva had pulled Tony over to her and held his wounds. She looked up at Jethro desperately, tear tracks staining her cheeks along with blood, from wiping her face and not caring that they were covered in it. For once, Gibbs didn't see the Mossad Assassin, he saw a young woman scared to death for her love.

Gibbs knelt next to her and put his fingers to Tony's throat. There was a pulse, but it was faint. He pulled DiNozzo's head closer to his and a grin almost broke out on his lips, thinking about what his Senior Agent would say to what he was about to do, since about six months ago, he had done the same for him after the car he was driving had gone into the Potomac, nearly drowning himself and Maddie Tyler. _"Payback's a bitch, right boss?" _Gibbs took a deep breath and blew it into Tony's lungs, hoping that he could get the oxygen to the parts that hadn't been irreparably damaged by the Y-pestis virus. Ziva went back to pressing on his wound, but it looked like Tony was running out of blood.

"They're sending a chopper to us, Probie. They won't be long!" Mike shouted, but his words did little to comfort those that could hear them. Gibbs began the chest compressions, desperation giving him a strength he didn't know he had. He could hear the air being forced into Tony's lungs, but he still wasn't taking a breath on his own.

"Come on DiNozzo, you don't get to die yet!" he blew air into his lungs again, as much as he could physically breathe out, making his head spin and his own lungs scream with strain. Still nothing. He still wasn't breathing. Gibbs checked for his pulse again, searching around for it when he couldn't feel anything, dread gripping him when he realised he hadn't just missed it, it was no longer there. "No… No! Come on, Tony! Don't quit now!" he began the chest compressions one more time with a ferocity that would have shocked him if he could have seen it.

"Tony… " Ziva retreated back a little, her tears running unchecked down her face, the reality of what she was seeing creating a soul numbing shock that prevented her from feeling anything at all. She watched the proceedings with a curious detachment, her vision blurring whenever she blinked. She had never gotten to tell him how much she cared for him, and now she never would. His limp body shook with every compression Gibbs made, but there was no attempt on Tony's part to take a breath on his own. She watched as Gibbs blew more air into Tony's lungs, something she hadn't been able to do. She had been in so much pain, though she couldn't feel the furrow the bullet had put in her arm, she hurt from the inside. Her heart was breaking, it seemed like it was in the last throes of death itself, and when Gibbs stopped trying to help Tony, it would give up too.

Gibbs' arms were burning from the effort he was putting into resuscitating Tony and he couldn't carry on for much longer. Tony wasn't moving, he was gone, and he wasn't going to come back, no matter how many hollow threats he shouted at him. Gibbs growled in fury and pushed himself into another round of mouth to mouth, thinking that this time would be the one that saved him. He had lost so much in his life, most of all those losses were of family, he wouldn't just sit here and do nothing whilst there was even a slim chance he could help Tony. Jenny was hovering in the back of his mind, and he knew that he couldn't quit on DiNozzo, because then he would have to check on her, and he didn't know what he would do if she was dead. Ziva whimpered behind him and he forced himself to the present, he had never had a flesh and blood son, Tony was as close as he had come and he loved him as if he really had been his. He wasn't going to accept his death. Gibbs gave a loud shout of anger and leaned back, bringing his arm up over his head and then driving his elbow down between Tony's ribs as hard as he could. It might work, if he could shock his heart into restarting, he could save him. Gibbs felt one or two of Tony's ribs give way under the onslaught and then drew his arm back, watching for any sign. Nothing. He blew in his mouth again and desperately tried again. This time more of Tony's ribs splintered and Gibbs felt his elbow jar, his forearm taking the impact and fracturing. He ignored the pain and blew into Tony's lungs again, only to be pushed back by Tony's arm, his hand useless from blood loss. He was alive. Relief coursed through him and he sat back heavily, the exhaustion hitting him full force.

"Not that… kind of guy… Boss…" Tony muttered, but he couldn't catch his breath and his chest felt like it was on fire. In fact scratch that, his whole body was on fire, his body was the unlucky log that fell in the path of molten lava and was burned up in seconds. He took a deep breath, but his chest cramped and he couldn't hold it. "Can't… breathe…" Gibbs wrapped his wounds and pulled Ziva closer to him, putting her hands over the wounds.

"Press on this as hard as you can, or we could lose him again." Ziva's red, tearstained eyes looked at him in barely restrained terror and he gave her shoulder a squeeze reassuringly. He had to check on Jenny. Just as Gibbs stood up, brightly dressed men and women dashed through the doorway of the diner, stopping in shock at the piles of bodies before them. The air ambulance crew had arrived. "Over here!" he waved to them and showed them to Tony, while Mike called for the others to go to Jenny. Everything that happened after that was almost a blur. Tony and Jenny were loaded into the air ambulance and flown straight to the nearest hospital, while Ziva, Mike and Gibbs had to take the cars that Gibbs had hidden around the back of the diner. There just wasn't room for everyone in the helicopter. For the three least wounded, the journey seemed to take forever. Ziva had the job of keeping Mike talking so that he didn't fall unconscious with his concussion whilst Gibbs drove them to the hospital. The drive took over an hour to complete.

As soon as they pulled into the car park they all scrambled out of the car and dashed up the steps and through the front door, looking for the front desk. They didn't even close the car doors behind them, since the seats were covered in blood and they doubted anyone would want it. Gibbs reached the receptionist first and demanded to know where his people were, whilst Ziva and Mike looked around in case the woman didn't tell him.

"They were both in a serious condition when they were brought in. they are still being worked on but if I were you, I would prepare for the worst." Gibbs glared at her and then stalked beck to Mike and Ziva, taking in the barely held together look Ziva wore. He reached out to her and pulled her in to a rough hug, holding her tight whilst they waited for word on their loved ones.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing! Especially Mrs Elizabeth Gibbs, books-n-cookies, Pandora of Ithilien and HesMines! Thank you all so much!

Ziva stared ahead at the white walls of the waiting room that Mike, Gibbs and herself had been ushered into an hour ago, the white giving her the perfect blank canvas to slip in to a daydream. It was one of the best kinds, one where she and Tony were together, where they didn't have to hide their relationship from Gibbs because he knew and approved. Where they were husband and wife and shared every aspect of their lives with each other. One in which she had a real family again. Since she had lost her little sister Tali, she had vowed to get revenge and never to lose anyone else. Her eyes filled up with tears, her mind replaying the moment she had broken that promise; the moment when she herself had shot her half brother Ari in the head. She wanted to believe she had done it to save Gibbs, and in part she had, but it was not the driving force behind her actions. Protecting someone she didn't know would never have induced her into killing her last sibling. She had needed to save Ari from himself. He had been such a loving, wonderful brother, how he had become the man she saw in Gibbs' basement, she didn't know. She had shot the monster he had become to save her brothers soul, and then came face to face with the reality of her actions when she had sat next to his body, singing to him and watching his blood spread across the dusty floor. She cringed as a flash of Tony's blood spreading on a dusty floor appeared in her mind. If he died, she had only herself to blame. She had been the one urging him to go after Jenny and Gibbs but he hadn't wanted to. She may as well have pulled the trigger herself, again. She should have known better than to get involved in Jenny and Jethro's business, they always maintained they could do things without help, well now she wished she had left them to it.

Gibbs paced past her and she winced in guilt. Tony wasn't the only one laying in theatre dying, Jenny was there too. If she and Tony had stayed away Jenny would be dead for sure, maybe Mike and Gibbs too. Was that better than the thought of losing Tony? Was she really that selfish? Jenny was her friend, her confidante; the person she went to with personal problems and quandaries, but Tony was the man she loved. She closed her eyes, her feelings too chaotic to make sense of. She didn't want _anyone_ to die, they were her friends, a surrogate family that had taken her in despite her faults and continued to love her no matter what. She just felt so strongly about Tony. If he made it out of this, she would tell him how she felt, she didn't have anything to lose now. She looked up at the clock on the wall. An hour and a half ago they had walked into this hospital, and since then they had been checked over, bandaged and in Gibbs' case, cast in plaster, then put in here to wait for word on Tony and Jenny, and they still didn't know what was going on. She stood up and walked to the door, fully intending to give the receptionist a piece of her mind when the door opened from the other side and a man stepped in. Mike and Jethro snapped their eyes to him as he cleared his throat and there was a collective holding of breath as they waited for him to speak.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Anderson, are you family of Agent Anthony DiNozzo and Director Jennifer Shepard?" They all nodded and he continued. "The surgeries went well. Both patients needed blood transfusions and when they wake up they will be very weak. Agent DiNozzo will need to be kept in ICU for a few weeks due to where the bullet entered his body. Since the gut is a very germ filled environment, any wound down there is serious, so we will be watching him for septic shock. His leg was grazed by a bullet, and while it was deep, it didn't tear any tendons, so he should be able to walk on it alright. He will also need physiotherapy for his stomach muscles in later weeks and he will have a lot of trouble breathing, since his ribs were almost shattered in some very violent CPR. We set the ribs that had splintered back in place, but there isn't a lot we can do to make sure they heal properly. We obviously can't cast his chest, so he will be in considerable pain whenever he takes a breath."

"Thank god…" Ziva whispered, and closed her eyes in relief; he was going to be ok. He wouldn't die now, Gibbs wouldn't let him and neither will she. She opened her eyes again and listened to what the doctor was saying about Jenny.

"Director Shepard was shot in the chest, breaking a rib or two and piercing a lung, so she too will be in pain whenever she breathes. Her lung partially collapsed and then filled with blood, but we were able to drain and mend it. The bullet nicked her artery, and though it wasn't a big hole, it's still a miracle she didn't bleed out where she fell. Your loved ones are strong to have made it this far, but they are not out of the woods yet. They have been sedated and will sleep for a few hours."

"Can we see them?" Ziva asked, her voice showing an urgency that they all felt, but didn't want to show.

"Yes, they are in room 146 in the east wing." They followed him out of the room and then walked swiftly past him down the corridors until they came to room 146. Ziva paused at the door and then stepped back to allow Gibbs to go in first. She wanted to see Tony and Jenny, but she wasn't sure if she could handle it. She had been showing a lot more vulnerability then she was comfortable with lately, and she had only a meagre amount of control over herself. She didn't want to lose it again. Gibbs slipped past her, squeezing her shoulder as he did so, and she followed him in. There was a nurse in the room checking the dosages in the IV's, she smiled at them as they filed in and then she tried to make herself as unobtrusive as possible. The families of those in the worst conditions tended to be more aggressive to hospital staff, so she tried not to garner their attention. When she had finished checking the patients over, she quietly slinked out, looking one last time at the small group sympathetically. Those three had a long wait ahead of them.

* * *

Jethro walked into the room first, Ziva behind him and Mike trailing along behind. He stopped in the middle of the floor as he took in both Tony and Jenny's appearances; looking so pale they could easily have been one of the bodies that Ducky was about to work on in autopsy. They had breathing apparatus in their throats and morphine and fluids were being pumped into their bodies, the heart monitors beeping occasionally to say they were still alive. Jethro tore his eyes away from Jenny and then walked to Tony's side, checking he was ok before mentally preparing himself to see her properly. Tony didn't look good; his face was bruised from the repeated attempts of forcing air in his mouth, probably from Ziva, who reached out to touch the purple marks hesitantly, tears rolling down her cheeks. The rest of his body was covered in a hospital gown, the bed sheet pulled up to his middle, but Ziva gently pulled the top of his gown back to see the damage to his chest. She let out a sob and put her face in her hands, as dark purple and almost black bruising appeared to everyone's eyes. It had saved his life, but to Ziva it was a reminder that she hadn't been able to do anything to save him.

Mike reached around her and put Tony's gown back in place, throwing an arm around the distraught woman in the process. She needed some comfort at the moment, and even though he didn't like to be around emotional girls, he would bear it for now. He grinned to himself as he watched Jethro steel himself to turn to Jenny; if he needed a hug too he had a free arm. He chuckled to himself, knowing that if Gibbs ever did anything like that, the first thing he would do would be to whack him upside of the head rather than embrace him, and then send him for a cat scan.

Jethro took a deep breath and turned away from Tony, coming to face Jenny's bed and then he moved to her side. She looked much better than Tony, there were no bruises on her face, but unlike Ziva, Gibbs didn't feel it was right to pull down Jenny's gown to check for CPR damage. She would more than likely wake up and strangle him. He smiled; it almost seemed worth it if that could really happen. He reached out and took Jenny's hand, caressing it softly as he watched her sleep. It seemed like days ago that they had kissed, when in reality it was only about three hours, but so much had happened. He had come to LA expecting to attend the funeral of a dearly departed friend and then follow Jenny around the shops. Instead he had found out his friend was a traitor, who had slept with Jenny's target and then let her go, lying to everyone about what he had done and he then took the credit for Jenny killing his, while he blamed her for Svetlana's escape. Gibbs had believed Jenny was lying when she had told him, but he had eventually seen the truth in her eyes and trusted her.

That had led to a rather memorable encounter with her, kissing her senseless against a wall, then bringing her down on the floor of the diner, neither wanting to waste the time they had, but both unwilling to consummate their new closeness in such hostile and unfamiliar surroundings. He was glad for their hesitancy now, knowing that if they had done anything they would have been none the wiser to the attack brewing just outside the diner, but her hushed, breathy words had affected him more than he cared to admit. They had been getting particularly adventurous with their petting and she had whispered in his ear. He was certain she hadn't meant to say it and she probably didn't realise she had, but he had heard them and he knew they were from the heart. "I need your baby." It sounded ridiculous if you said it out loud in normal conversation, but she had been beneath him, running her hands over his body, his stroking hers, and the words had sounded like a magical incantation for happiness. It had felt _right_ to hear from her and he had realised he felt the same. He _needed_ her baby, he _needed_ her to carry his child, he _needed_ her to be everything to him and it was intoxicating knowing they were thinking along the same lines subconsciously as well as consciously. He kissed her hand and buried his face in her arm. He just hoped he got the chance to tell her.

Ziva pulled out of the circle of Mike's arms and walked over to Jethro, gasping at the sight of Jenny, and then placing a steadying hand on Gibbs' shoulder. Mike decided to stay by the door in a guard position. He didn't think they would be attacked, but he didn't know Tony or Jenny as well as Ziva and Jethro. He didn't want them to feel like he was faking anxiety, so he stayed out of it, only showing the concern he really felt. He didn't want them to die, they were both decent people and he liked them, particularly Jenny, whom he knew just that bit more than DiNozzo. She was sassy in a good way and he respected her intelligence, which she had surely needed to get to the top in somewhere as male dominated as NCIS. Jethro needed her too, which was another thing in her favour, just like Ziva obviously needs Tony. This family wasn't complete though, only half its members were present. The geeks and the ME were still in DC, unaware anything bad had befallen them. He didn't want to cause Jethro or Ziva more pain, but someone should let them know.

"Probie, you want me to call the rest of your team?" Jethro looked up at him and then shook his head slowly. Calling the team would give him something to do other than waiting to see if Tony and Jenny were going to make it through.

"No, no I'll do it."

* * *

"Something is wrong Timmy, I can feel it!" Abby declared, pacing in front of McGee's desk in the bullpen like a caged tiger. Every now and then she threw worried glances towards the elevator as if she expected the Angel of Death to come out of it, offering its condolences.

"Nothing's wrong Abby, calm down." She turned on the spot and advanced on him menacingly, making McGee decide that trying to make her feel better would only be painful for him.

"I will not calm down Timmy! You know that feeling you get? The one where you just know something terrible has happened?" He gave her a blank look and she waved her hands dismissively at him. "Of course you don't, but I have, and I have it!" McGee was saved from having to respond by the sudden appearance of Ducky, who wandered over to them curiously, having watched Abby's display of nervousness.

"What do you have my dear?" She turned to look at him, her gaze softening into puppy dog eyes.

"A terrible feeling that something bad has happened in LA!" Ducky smiled at her reassuringly.

"I'm sure it's nothing Ab-" his phone began to ring, cutting him off unexpectedly. "Excuse me." He said to Abby and McGee, walking over to Ziva's desk for a little privacy before accepting the call. "Dr. Mallard."

"_Ducky, it's me_." Gibbs' voice said, though he sounded strained, like he was troubled. Ducky decided to ignore it, he would tell him if it were anything to do with him.

"Ah Jethro! How is Los Angeles?" there was a short silence after he said that, and Ducky began to get worried.

"_We're not sightseeing. Jenny and Tony were shot, we're in the hospital._" Ducky stopped where he was and his eyes widened in shock.

"My god! What happened? Is everyone alright?" he couldn't believe it; Jenny _and_ Tony had been shot. What was he going to tell Abby and Timothy if one of them didn't make it?

"_They're in a bad way, Duck. They nearly bled out where they were shot and Tony stopped breathing. Jenny's lung collapsed… they both lost consciousness… had to be airlifted to hospital… I'd rather not talk about it over the phone. Could you… could you just…?_" his voice almost broke, causing Ducky to take pity on him and finish what he was about to say, instead of forcing him to continue.

"Yes Jethro, I'll tell the others."

"_Thanks. Oh and give this number to McGee would you? Jenny… Jenny found it; it was Decker's insurance policy._" Ducky picked up a pen and grabbed some paper, scrunching up his face in concentration, trying to think about some reason William would have needed an insurance policy. He couldn't think of one but wrote down the numbers Jethro said over the phone to him anyway.

"Why would he need one of those?"

"_He wasn't as honest as we thought._" That one sentence carried venom that Ducky hadn't heard in a long time. Obviously Decker had done something very wrong and Jethro had only just found out about it.

"Alright I'll just…" he trailed off as he looked at the string of numbers he had written. There was something familiar about them; it was almost like he had written them before. Just like that his eyes closed and he sighed, the memory coming back and giving him something good to report back to Gibbs. "Jethro I think I can save you some trouble on this. It's a case file number." Gibbs was silent on the other end of the phone, probably wondering why his insurance policy was a case file too.

"_Are you sure Duck?_"

"Jethro, I have been here at NCIS for long enough to recognise something like that. I have always done my own paperwork, by hand too, so things like this stick in my mind. It is an old file number though; we haven't used this sequence for at least eight years." He said, examining the numbers for other clues. "Oh, and it won't be accessible by computer either. These files are all kept over in archives in paper form. No one has bothered to write them up on the computer system yet, if they ever will."

"_Can you get the file for me Duck?_"

"I suppose so, although I'm not sure if I'm allowed to take it out of the building." He heard hushed voices on Jethro's end of the line and then he spoke again.

"_Mike says someone in archives owes him one. Just tell the guy his name and that they are even._"

"Alright, do you want us to come to you with it?"

"_No. we'll try get Jenny and Tony moved to Bethesda as soon as we can. We just need to clean up the crime scene._" Ah of course. If Jenny and Tony were attacked, Ziva and Jethro would make sure no one walked away from it alive.

"I'll be awaiting the bodies."

"_Thanks Duck._"

"You're welcome Jethro." He ended the call and turned around to see Abby and Timothy watching him warily, something in his demeanour telling them something really was wrong. He walked towards them slowly, gathering the words to tell them what had happened, without scaring them too much.

"What is it?" Timothy asked, and Ducky sighed softly, deciding he couldn't put it off any longer.

"Jenny and Tony were shot; they are in hospital in LA." Abby's stricken face felt like a punch in the gut, and he had to remind himself that they aren't dead. "They aren't dead Abby, just wounded." McGee stared off into the distance, shock not really making it real for him. He distractedly put an arm around Abby's shoulders and she buried her face in his chest, crying quietly. Everyone knew that getting shot is bad, but when you understand the human body like she did, you knew that a bullet wound _anywhere_ could kill, even if it was through shock alone, because the bullet just rips its way through the body. She clamped her eyes shut harder, trying to erase the images of bullets tearing through Jenny and Tony, their lifeless bodies falling to the ground.

"They'll be fine Abs, they're fighters." McGee said to her softly, and she brought her head up to look at him.

"What if they don't have anything to fight for?"

"They do." He smiled knowingly at her and she allowed herself to smile back. Ziva and Gibbs were with them. They would know. They would fight.

* * *

A.N. 2: It just stood to reason for me that Ducky would recognise the numbers, since he has been part of NCIS for so many years. Mike figured it out in the episode, so why wouldn't Ducky, who hand writes everything?


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Again, I want to thank those who have reviewed this story; black widow mistress, Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, Pandora of Ithilien, writingfreak145, books-n-cookies, Jeremy Hanlon and HesMines!

The hospital in LA was a bustle of activity. Ziva and Gibbs watched anxiously as the nurse hooked Tony up to more antibiotics, the risk of infection in his gut no longer just a chance. Mike had volunteered to stay with Jenny while Ziva and Gibbs went to Tony's new room with him, unwilling to leave him alone in what could easily be his last moments. It hadn't seemed possible, but just over an hour ago his skin had turned even paler and clammy, and his heart had seemed more laboured.

The nurses had rushed in and stripped off the bandages on his gut, revealing a red, inflamed and obviously infected bullet wound, and now he was being moved to a completely sterile room in the hopes they could limit the amount of illnesses that could catch a ride on the coat tails of this infection. They were not allowed in the sterile room though, and could only watch what was happening to Tony through a window.

Ziva had cried so much she was almost convinced her tear ducts were going to go on strike. Gibbs put a comforting hand on her shoulder to let her know she wasn't alone, but in reality, he couldn't imagine how it must feel to see Tony, but know she couldn't get near him because doing so would kill him. He could wander back to Jenny's room at any time and sit by her bed, holding her hand. Now Ziva couldn't. The moment the nurse stepped out of the sterile room, Ziva was on her, asking her questions and demanding answers.

"Nurse." She called, and the nurse turned to her, waiting patiently for the inevitable family explosion of hostility because of grief. "How is he? Is he going to be alright?" The nurse inclined her head politely and smiled encouragingly.

"Well luckily for Agent DiNozzo, the infection is _not_ Sepsis; it's just a common staphylococcus virus. Quite easy to treat, but due to the nature of his wounds he will need to be under close observation to make sure Sepsis or anything else doesn't assert itself, which it so easily could do in his weakened state." Ziva nodded and closed her eyes helplessly. She rubbed her forehead and then opened her eyes, searching the nurse's face for lies.

"When will he come out of… there?" she asked gesturing to the sterile room and watching the nurse shake her head sadly.

"Not for a while, I'm afraid." Ziva glanced forlornly at the glass that separated her from Tony and the nurse rolled her eyes in frustration. _The junior nurses probably told her she couldn't go in. When will they learn?_ "You _can_ go in and see him, but you will need to wear a suit that completely covers you, and gloves if you want to touch him." Ziva's eyes widened excitedly and she nodded her head.

The nurse led her to the entrance and made her dress in the coveralls in the doorway, before letting her through to the main room. Ziva dashed over to Tony as soon as she could and lifted his hand into her own, the feel of his skin blocked from her by the latex barrier covering her hands. The tenuous connection was enough though, and she sat by his bed, not intending to leave until he did. Gibbs watched Ziva contentedly and then decided to have the nurse answer his own questions.

"I thought sterile rooms were just for people with no immune system. Why is Tony in there?" he enquired and the nurse thought over her answer carefully before responding, not wanting to make Agent DiNozzo's situation look more dire than it really was.

"While his immune system has not been destroyed, it is being taxed by the numerous wounds he has suffered and the hefty blood loss. Also, Sepsis is a very severe illness. If he gets it, it may lead to septic shock and he will most likely die, or at the very least, be in intensive care, respiratory aids and dialysis equipment for a long time. It really is for his own good that he stays in the sterile room." Gibbs nodded and then checked his phone, looking at the message Ducky had sent him.

'_I have retrieved the case file, Jethro. It is waiting for you in your boat.'_ That just made him want to take Jenny and Tony home right away, but he didn't want to put their recoveries at a disadvantage by flying them across the US.

"I want to have both DiNozzo and Director Shepard airlifted to Bethesda Naval Hospital in DC, what is the earliest I can do that?" The nurse put her hands on her hips and thought it over.

"I'd say wait two days for Agent DiNozzo, the antibiotics will be throughout his system and he should be on his way to beating the infection. You could probably take Director Shepard today, though." he considered it. He could leave Ziva here with Tony and take Jenny home now. Then he could see the case file, wrap up Svetlana's case and then bring Tony home. The only anomaly in his plans was Mike. Would he want to come to DC? Stay here in LA with Ziva? Or go straight back to Mexico? No time like the present to find out. Gibbs turned on his heel and swept through the corridors back to Jenny's room.

* * *

Jenny was in a state of bliss. She was sitting on the couch in her living room back in DC; Jethro was sitting next to her, snuggling up with her and their little boy, who was in their arms. His bright green eyes watched them as they spoke softly to him, occasionally gurgling happily at the faces they pulled. He was such a sweet, mild mannered boy, he hardly cried and he was always smiling. A part of her mind told her this was an unrealistic way for a child so young to act, but she ignored it. It was how her perfect little boy would be, she was allowed to dream.

Just like that the image cracked, both Jethro and their baby sailing away from her. No, they weren't moving, she was. Jethro and their baby were staying where they belonged; in her mind, while she was being sent out of it, being sent hurtling towards consciousness and the feeling of someone softly stroking her hair.

"Mmm… Don't stop." She muttered, not registering that she had spoken, but the hand stilled, having heard her words as clear as day.

"Jen? How are you feeling?" she sighed and leaned her head back into his hand and the hand obliged, gently stroking her hair again. She opened her eyes slowly and found herself staring into two pools of blue, as Jethro leaned over her to place a kiss on her head. She closed her eyes, accepting the kiss and then grasped the lapels of his jacket to bring him back down to her for a real kiss.

The moment his lips touched hers was pure rapture, the soft silky skin brushing together gently for a few moments before his tongue sought entrance to her mouth. She gave it, sighing into him and releasing her grip on his lapels to take hold of his head instead, her fingers threading through his salt and pepper hair, which was becoming more salt with every passing year but she still loved it. The silver brought his sharp blue eyes into focus and once they had you, you couldn't escape without cutting part of yourself off and leaving it with him. She had managed it once, but the heartache just wasn't worth it and now he had accepted her back, and she felt whole again, the surrendered piece fitting back into place like she had never severed it. The only thing missing now was a baby, which her biological clock was relentless in reminding her. They had the chance to get one now though, and there was no way she was letting the chance slip away.

He nibbled her tongue, gently tickling her and she giggled before retaliating by biting his bottom lip and then soothing it by sucking it into her mouth softly. His hands dipped under the sheet and her gown and began to explore her warm soft skin, careful not to touch her chest, no matter how much she wanted him to. The morphine was dulling the pain, but touching the wound would be a sharp hurt that she wouldn't appreciate in the long run.

* * *

Mike sighed as Jethro and Jenny began to get passionate in front of him, shook his head and turned around so he faced the door, growling at anyone who tried to look through the glass, even though they were just looking for their own relatives. Surely getting shot should be a deterrent for this kind of behaviour, the pain alone should be making them both think twice about such vigorous explorations. Little did he know that they _were_ thinking twice about what they were doing, their thoughts just weren't along the lines of '_should I be doing this?'_ But rather '_would he/she enjoy __**this**__?'_

One of them moaned behind him and Mike decided he would probably be better able to help them if he was on the _other_ side of the door. A voyeur he was not. He opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him and smiling when he realised it cut off the sounds those two were making completely. He was just contemplating going outside for a smoke, when a nurse urgently pushed past him into the room and all but ran the last few steps to Jenny's bed. Mike faced away from the door again, worried but not sure his presence was required, 'too many cooks' and all that. He would just get in the way and then Gibbs would get mad. Nah, he'd stay out here and make sure there were no outside threats.

* * *

Jenny moaned as his mouth left hers and travelled down her neck, but she began to feel odd. Her head was becoming light and her chest felt tight, like someone had placed an elastic band around her lungs and she couldn't take a deep breath. She pushed Jethro's head away once she realised she was beginning to hyperventilate and he held her hand, speaking to her softly but firmly to try and help her get her breathing under control.

She closed her eyes and concentrated in taking deeper breaths but her ribs began to burn, making it difficult and her vision became blurry. She heard Jethro swear and then push a call button for a nurse and then moments later Jenny felt a mask being placed over her mouth, the rush of oxygen calming her heaving lungs quickly. The nurse muttered something to Jethro and then Jenny felt her eyelids become heavy. They fluttered a few times and then closed as her body relaxed in medicated sleep.

* * *

Jethro cursed himself as the nurse sedated Jenny, her body relaxing and her breathing falling back into a slow and steady rhythm. He shouldn't have over exerted her; she has just woken up after a major operation on her chest and lungs, and the first thing he decides to do is kiss her until she can't breathe? He leaned over and kissed each eyelid gently, then left the room, standing next to Mike outside the door. The older man acknowledged his presence and inclined his head towards the room.

"Too much, too fast?" his voice was concerned rather than sarcastic and Gibbs sighed, nodding his head and internally kicking himself again.

"She couldn't breathe." He whispered, and Mike raised his eyebrows.

"Will she need another operation? Or were you kissing the breath out of her?" Gibbs gave him a tight, annoyed look and Mike grinned. "Option two then." Gibbs turned around to look through the window at Jenny and spoke to Mike while he watched her sleep.

"I'm having Jenny transferred to Bethesda today. Tony can't make the trip yet. I want to know where you want to be." Mike nodded and considered his options. He wanted to go back to Mexico and see his daughter in law and granddaughter again, but he knew they would be alright for another few days without him. These people did need him however.

"I'll stay here Probie. Your boy needs his girl, but the girl needs a shoulder to cry on and regain her strength. I'll be her shoulder. Or you can be and I'll go with Jenny…" he trailed off as Gibbs was already shaking his head.

"No, I'm going with Jen. Thanks Mike, Ziva will appreciate it." Mike grunted and then shook Gibbs' hand before walking away to the sterile room, and his new charge. Gibbs watched him go and then flicked his phone open, calling in the request for transfer.

* * *

Ziva blinked back the tears in her eyes and repeated the motion of her gloved hand gliding over Tony's white and sweaty one. He was going to be alright, he wouldn't leave her now. He had fought for life through the trip to the hospital and through the surgery. He wouldn't give up now. She looked behind her and dragged the stool closer so she could sit by Tony's side. She would only leave him for toilet and coffee breaks, she already knew that, and apparently so did the nurses, who made no effort to get her to leave him.

She could see his eyes roving under the lids and she couldn't help but be curious about what he was seeing. Would it be a nightmare of what had happened to them? Or a dream about something completely different? She refused to sleep herself because she knew hers would be the nightmare, she saw it whenever she closed her eyes, the scene where his blood splattered across the floor behind him and he fell backwards, the blood pooling around him, replaying itself in her mind. Ziva jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see Mike, suited up in the coveralls, watching her carefully.

"I brought you a coffee. You're going to have to go outside to drink it though." He gestured to the nurse standing in front of the glass with a steaming cup of no doubt wonderful coffee, since it displayed the Starbucks logo. "I'll stay here until you finish it. You could grab forty winks while you're at it too." Ziva shook her head but stood, laying Tony's hand next to him, regardless.

"I will have the coffee, but I cannot sleep." She walked to the doors, stepped into the 'airlock' and took off the coveralls, before walking out to the nurse holding the hot cup. "Thank you." she said, taking the cup and then turning to the glass, watching Mike sit awkwardly next to Tony. He didn't want to hold his hand, but he didn't want her to think he was disregarding him, so he settled with putting a hand on his shoulder. Ziva mouthed her thanks to him through the glass and took her first sip of the coffee. It was strong; the taste a much needed wake up. It was going to be a long wait for Tony's health to recover, but for the first time she felt she had the strength to watch every moment pass by without expecting the worst.

A.N.: I got a review for 'A friend in need' requesting I make my paragraphs shorter to make it easier to read, so I am breaking them down in all of my subsequent chapters more than I usually would. If anything reads oddly, it's probably due to this. Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thank you to Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, Pandora of Ithilien, black widow mistress, books-n-cookies and HesMines for reviewing. Also, the idea for this chapter came from HesMines' review, so thanks and I hope you enjoy it!

Mike walked in to the airlock and put the strange coverall clothes on before walking into Tony's room. Ziva had stayed here all night and she was showing the strain of staying awake for so long. Her movements were slow and she had to concentrate to eat. He had almost threatened to lock her in a room with a bed, but he knew she would just pick the lock and go back to Tony. The other option he had thought of was not the nicest one.

He could tell the nurses not to let her in with Tony. She would then kill him and tear the nurses apart to get to her man so that wasn't an option either. His last and most sensible option was the one he was implementing now. He had brought one of the recliners from another room and covered it in a sterile cover. He pushed it through the doors and then wheeled it next to Tony's bed. Ziva didn't acknowledge him at first, but when he put his hand on her shoulder she looked up at him and smiled tiredly.

"Time to get some rest." He shook her gently to emphasise his words and she swatted his hands away.

"I am not leaving him."

"You don't have to. I brought this in here especially for you." he gestured to the recliner and she raised an eyebrow at it. "It doesn't take up as much space as a bed would, but you can still sleep on it." she nodded and then turned back to Tony.

"Sweet dreams Mike." He growled angrily and lifted her out of her seat and deposited her on the recliner. She was too shocked to move at first, but then she glared at him with a dangerous glint in her eyes. She just didn't get that this was for her own good.

"Now sleep or you'll be unconscious when he does wake up." he snarled at her and she averted her eyes for a moment, thinking. He was right; she was exhausted and hadn't slept in forty two hours. She had waved off Gibbs when he had taken Jenny to DC and then come straight back here. She hadn't seen any sign Tony was getting better at all and there was no way to tell if he was going to wake up anytime soon. Could she afford to sleep the few hours she needed? She swallowed and then nodded to Mike.

"Alright. I want to be awoken when he wakes up though." She stressed to him and Mike waved away her words. He knew that already and he wasn't willing to risk his manhood by not doing as she asked.

"You will be the first to know." he said and then settled himself next to DiNozzo, while Ziva took some much needed rest.

* * *

Tony DiNozzo was finding it very difficult to breathe. Every time he drew air into his lungs, their capacity seemed to get smaller and smaller. He gasped and then coughed, blood trickling from his mouth, down his chin. He was going to die, he just knew it. This felt exactly like what had happened to him three years ago when he had contracted the Y-pestis virus. He tried to open his eyes, but the blue lights were harsh and he squeezed them shut. He couldn't breathe. His gasping was getting shallower and he began to really panic. He needed air, he needed help. Where was the mask? Where was the oxygen mask that he needed? He reached out next to him, his hands shaking so much he sent whatever was next to him crashing the ground before he realised he had hit it.

"Easy Tony. Here, breathe deep." A soft feminine voice said to him soothingly and he felt the sought after mask being placed against his mouth. The rush of oxygen was a welcome relief to his aching lungs and he gratefully sucked in as much air as he could breathe in at any one time. The oxygen also helped to clear his mind and he realised he knew the voice that had spoken, so he tried once again to open his eyes. The outline of a dark haired woman met his blurry vision and he reached up to the mask, to remove it temporarily so he could speak.

"Kate?" he whispered and he felt her grip his arm encouragingly, the blurry outline nodding.

"Who else do you know that would show up in this place?" she asked him sarcastically, giving him the opening to make the jokes that would make him more at ease. He looked around at the familiar glass and steel room, the UV lamps shining down on them to help keep illnesses at bay and had to close his eyes against the bittersweet memories of their time here.

"Well, there was that cute nurse." She laughed and he broke a smile, happy to hear her, happy to see her again. Her death had hit him hard, it had forced him to look at the job he loved with a more critical eye and if he was honest with himself, it had forced him to grow up. He didn't go to the all night parties with his frat brothers as often, looking for young co-eds to seduce for a quick fling. He was more careful, in his professional life as well as his sex life. Life was so short; it could be ripped away from you in a second. Why risk yourself unnecessarily?

Kate looked exactly like she had when they had been in this room for real, the pyjamas she wore were the same, the room was the same and he was in the same condition. The only difference was that they were alone. She gripped his hand and shook her head at him.

"I leave you alone for three years and look at the mess you make of yourself. You let yourself get too deep in an undercover op and refused to back out, you broke your heart, you got yourself shot to pieces and you ignored the woman that could make it all better." Tony grimaced and then leaned closer to her, like he was about to tell her a big secret.

"I think Jenny is taken- ow!" Kate slapped his shoulder gently but firmly.

"You know I'm not talking about Jenny, Tony." She raised an eyebrow and he averted his eyes, taking a deep breath from the mask instead of answering.

"Am I dying?" he whispered, and she decided to let him change the topic. She waved a hand around the room and then spoke.

"This is as close to death as you have come, which is more than likely why you decided to appear here, and call for me."

"I called for you?"

"Unconsciously, yes. I'm not the only person who has died that you felt strongly for, but I am the one that you felt you needed the most right now." she squeezed his hand and he nodded, thinking of the other woman that he had lost, that he hadn't been able to help, the other woman who had died a few feet from him, before he could even try to save her.

"Paula." he said and Kate dipped her head.

"She was ready to come to you, even your mother was, but you chose me." He scoffed at the thought his mother had wanted to help him, they must not have alcohol in heaven. Or hell, whichever applied. She had always been more concerned with her next tipple, well bottle, than him. Why should she act any different dead? Paula and Kate were much better candidates.

"You helped me through the plague; you stayed with me, even though you could have caught it yourself. I never properly thanked you for that, I never got the chance. When I got back to work we went straight into the Ari case and then he…" he couldn't finish the sentence, so she did.

"Killed me. I know how you felt, I always did. 'I _know_ you DiNozzo.'" She quoted her own words from his 'ghost daydream', that he'd had the day after her death. He chuckled and then became quiet, the reason he hadn't made a move on Ziva was standing right in front of him. He had loved Kate, but it hadn't been the love a man has for a woman, it had been the love someone has for a sibling. He recalled what Ducky had said to them, that their bickering stemmed from a need to please a father figure; Gibbs.

Kate had meant so much to him and then she had been torn away from him. He had felt lost without Kate and his grief had been severe. Every time he looked up from his desk he hoped to see her working opposite him. Whenever he ate his lunch in the squad room he expected her to pop out of nowhere and admonish him for his bad diet. When he went to the shooting range he hoped to compete with her, but she was never there. What if the same thing happened to Ziva? What would he do then? Did it even matter anymore? He was dying wasn't he?

"Will you stay with me when I die?" he asked and she smiled and nodded, then whacked the back of his head.

"Is this how you want it to end Tony? Are you happy with what you have accomplished in your life? Are you willing to put McGee, Abby, Ducky and Gibbs through losing you?" She leaned down to him and looked in to his eyes. "Are you content to break Ziva's heart?"

"Of course not. Do you think I want to leave her? To let go? I just don't see how I can get out of here again. My lungs will be so damaged I probably won't be able to walk." He closed his eyes in remembered frustration and threw the mask away.

"Tony your lungs were not damaged in the shooting. You just imagined this scene because it is the only other time you were close to dying." She spoke softly, hoping to draw him from his self pity and make him realise he had so much to live for. He opened his eyes and reached up to take her hand again. She slipped hers in his and he looked at her sadly.

"Are you really here?" his voice betrayed his hope and Kate smiled gently.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just your subconscious trying to help you sort yourself out." He looked at her again and this time, he realised he could see through her. She seemed to be fading; in fact the room was fading too. "Take care of yourself DiNozzo, and when the time really does come, I promise I'll be there." She released his hand and he watched her wave at him and then she disappeared. The room began changing, becoming so blurred he couldn't see anymore and just trying gave him vertigo. He closed his eyes and waited for his equilibrium to reset itself, a pain in his gut suddenly roaring into life. He hissed in pain and then opened his eyes again, becoming temporarily blinded by the harsh white lights. A deep male voice spoke to someone in the room but he couldn't tell what he said.

"Tony? Tony can you hear me?" another anxious voice asked next to him. This voice was female and had a beautiful husky quality to it making it easy to identify, and the Israeli accent made it even easier. She moved around noisily beside him and he heard her push a call button.

"Ziva." He whispered, knowing she was there with him, but unable to feel her. There was a hand on one of his with a strange latex feel to it, brushing against his skin soothingly. Was she wearing gloves? "Ziva." He said again, making sure she was listening to him. "I'm not dying."

"I know Tony. I know." she whispered back and he nodded, satisfied that she wasn't fearing the worst. He wasn't going to leave her. He felt himself drifting off and this time he knew what was happening to him. He was falling asleep. He reached out to her with his other hand and she held both of them, stroking his skin with her gloves. He had come back to her, and this time he wasn't letting her go.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Gibbs walked through the front door of his house, closing it carefully behind him for once and then walking straight to the basement stairs. Ducky had said he had left a case file for him in his boat and he was here to finally read it. He hoped it would shed some more light on the mission and what went wrong, while confirming everything Jenny and Svetlana had told him. Jenny was at Bethesda naval hospital and would be for a week or two more, though hopefully he would be able to bring her home sooner than that.

He wanted to be able to take care of her, to prepare himself for caring for another human being once again. It had been so long since he had been bothered about anyone's health but his own, even Hollis had kept herself to herself when she had been ill. He desperately needed the practice for when he and Jenny had their baby. They would, he knew it, and so he needed to be ready. What kind of father would he be if he couldn't calm a baby? Or accurately decipher its needs?

He shook off his thoughts and swiftly descended into his basement, moving to his boat and scanning it with his eyes for anything out of the ordinary. He caught sight of something paper looking just inside the cabin of the boat and he leaned in, seeing the promised case file. Gibbs picked it up and walked to his work bench, staring at the file. This was it. He sat down and slowly opened the folder, not wanting to find any surprises within, but unable to not find out. As he opened it, a little bit of paper fell out and fluttered to the ground. Gibbs set the file aside and reached down for the paper, bringing it up into the light so he could read it.

'_Jethro, I'm not sure when you will find this, or if you will, but I would like you to know how sorry I am for what you will read. I couldn't punish one but not the other. Tom Morrow.'_

Jethro stared at it, wondering what he meant. Jenny hadn't said anything about being punished and he didn't recall getting any punishment himself. He placed the paper on his desk, picked the file back up and started to read. What he read shocked him, even though he had heard what Jenny had told him, seeing proof of Decker's, his friend's, treachery still stung. The entire inquiry into Jenny's misconduct was written in one person's handwriting, which Gibbs recognised as belonging to Director Tom Morrow. It detailed what had transpired during the inquiry and how it had ended up being Decker that was under investigation, but Jenny was still to be punished for her transgression. Jethro stared at the paper, not really taking in the words but now knowing what Morrow was apologising for. He had to read it out loud for it to fully sink in.

'_Although Agent Jennifer Shepard was cleared of the accusations against her, she was still found to be in contravention of the rules by entering a sexual relationship with a colleague. It was decided that Agent Shepard and Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the other guilty party, would be split up permanently. Agent Shepard was ordered to terminate her relationship with Agent Gibbs and was then reassigned to European antiterrorism. Agent Gibbs was ordered back to headquarters.'_

Jethro gazed at the file for a long moment, no longer reading. He couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe Morrow had done that to them. Why hadn't Jenny told him the truth rather than 'I've got a better job offer'? He shook his head and closed the file with a snap, placing it on the work bench and then standing. Why hadn't she told him when she had revealed the rest of what this case had done? Why keep this, the most important part, a secret? Did she think he would love her less? Did she think he would leave her? He leaned on his bench for support as he thought of the years they had spent apart, him believing she had never loved him, had just used him to get ahead, when really she'd been hurting just as much as him.

He groaned thinking about his marriage to Stephanie just a few months after Jenny had left him. She must have thought he never cared for her. He cursed himself for his impulsiveness, but he had just needed someone to help him get over her. Had she heard about his marriage back then? Or did she just find out about it when she had become Director? Was it selfish to hope it was the latter? To hope that she hadn't felt the agony of being replaced like so many of his ex-wives had? Gibbs sighed loudly and then tucked the case file into one of the little nooks in his basement, where no one would look for it, or find it if they were searching for it. He had to get back to Jenny.

* * *

The evidence had arrived from the crime scene in LA; the bodies were down in autopsy with Ducky and Palmer, while Abby had the rest. She opened the boxes and removed a few of the bags, stopping when she found herself holding Jenny's shirt. She clutched it closer to her and willed her tears not to fall. _Jenny is ok, she is at Bethesda, she is getting better, _Abby said to herself_. There is no risk of her relapsing; she is going to live a long and happy life._ Feeling a little calmer, she reached in and pulled out another bag, this time finding herself holding Tony's shirt. _He is getting better too, surely he is_, she thought, terror mounting at the notion he may have died and Ziva could just be too distraught to tell anyone. She hadn't heard anything from Mike though, and he was with Ziva. What if…?

She couldn't hold in the tears anymore, she sank to the ground clutching the bloody shirts to her, tears streaming down her face as sobs wracked her frame. She had so nearly lost half her family in one go; in a strange hostile place that didn't seem to care it was destroying her world. The men downstairs were lucky they were already dead or she would have unleashed her full forensic knowledge on them to make them feel some of the agony that currently gripped her heart. How could life be so cruel? She knew that Ziva and Gibbs felt strongly for Tony and Jenny, so why did they have to be hurt? Was this fate's way of showing them what they could lose? Because it was a brutal way to do it.

"Abby? Hey, what's wrong?" Abby looked up from the red soaked clothing in her arms and into the worried face of McGee. He saw the shirts and nodded in understanding. Crouching net to her he pulled her into his arms and stroked her back. "I came down to tell you that Ziva just called me. Tony was conscious for a few moments not long ago. He's getting better now. He told her he isn't going to die, ok? She'll make sure he gets better."

"Thanks Timmy." She mumbled into his chest, not letting go of him or the shirts. She wiped her eyes and he gave her one last squeeze before pulling back and standing up. He held out his hands for her and she reached up accepting the help. He pulled her up and then put one of his hands on her shoulder.

"So how about I help you process this stuff so we can go to Bethesda? I'm sure Ducky will be done by then too, and maybe Ziva will call back with more news on Tony." He said encouragingly and she gave him a sharp nod and flashed him a brief smile.

"Your right Timmy. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can see to our family." She hugged him again and they both got to work, sharing the shirts so it didn't become too much for her again.

* * *

Gibbs made his way silently through the hospital corridors at Bethesda, intent upon talking with Jenny about everything she had hidden for him for so long. He was sure Abby would want to see her soon so he had to make this quick so they weren't disturbed. He spotted the room Jenny was in and swallowed nervously. What he had found out didn't change anything between them; in fact to him it made them stronger. Even after being split up by their own Agency they had found their way back to each other.

He entered her room and closed the door, moving to her side and taking her hand as he sat on the edge of her bed. She was no longer sedated, she had been sleeping off the drugs and the exhaustion that the bullet wound to her chest gave her. Breathing was an effort she would have forgone if it wasn't necessary for her survival. He kissed her hand and then leaned down to kiss her forehead. When his lips touched her head she giggled and he drew back to see her green eyes gazing back at him.

"Well hello there. I could get used to waking up with you. I'd just change one thing, though." She whispered to him and he felt a grin break out on his face.

"What's that?" he asked her, revelling in the way her eyes shone brighter, the pupils dilating slightly, showing which direction her thoughts had turned.

"I'd have you under the covers with me." She said simply, trying to lean up so she could reach his lips. She hissed in pain, the drugs momentarily making her forget about her bullet wound and she flopped back on the pillows. Jethro helped her to get comfortable again and then kissed her lips quickly, in an effort to stop himself from getting carried away again and nearly suffocate her.

"I read the case file from our Paris mission. Why didn't you tell me Jen?" she looked at him slightly confused and then her eyes cleared in realisation. She swallowed nervously, this wasn't how she had hoped he would find out, in fact she had hoped he never would. Leaving him had been the hardest thing she had ever done, and she hadn't wanted to do it in the first place.

"I didn't want to hurt you, but I couldn't stay away if you knew I didn't want to go. I couldn't risk both our careers for my own selfishness."

"What about my selfishness, Jenny? I wouldn't have let you go if I knew. I'd have followed you to Europe and the director would have let me. He didn't ever want to lose a skilled Agent like me. He would have let us stay together if we had fought for it." he said to her emphatically. She bit her lip and looked away, gathering her strength, then she looked back at him.

"Does it matter anymore Jethro? Are you staying with me now, or leaving me?" she asked, searching his eyes for the love that she knew she inspired in him, that he harboured for her but usually tried not to verbalise. He let her see it and she returned the favour, the warm feeling of coming home once again settling upon her heart and she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

"I'm staying Jen. We will have the family we should have had nine years ago, and damn the consequences." he stroked a finger down her cheek and she smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him down for another kiss.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thank you to Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, black widow mistress, HesMines and books-n-cookies for reviewing!

Ziva watched as Tony's eyes opened once more, a sight she would never get enough of, and she smiled at him when he caught her gaze. He smiled back, blinking sleepily and then looking around the room for someone. He saw Mike standing behind the glass with a steaming cup of coffee and he grinned, beckoning him in. Mike held the cup tighter and gestured to Ziva, telling them that he had brought it for her.

"You are in a sterile room, Tony. Coffee is not allowed in, nor anything else that is not sterilised or at least covered up." she said showing him the coverall's she was wearing so that no microbes could jump from her to him and hurt him. "I'm glad you are back with m- us." Tony's eyes snapped to hers and she willed herself not to blush, particularly when his smile became decidedly wolfish. He let the slip pass and then focussed on who was not by his bedside.

"Where's Gibbs? And Jenny?" he asked, wondering why Mike had stayed. He hadn't been aware the old guy even liked him.

"Jenny was hurt, but Gibbs had her transferred to Bethesda. He wanted to take you too, but the nature of your wound meant you had to stay here for a while. Mike and I decided to stay with you, and Gibbs went with Jenny." she said gently, hoping he hadn't been expecting Gibbs to be here when he woke up. Tony just shrugged and brought a hand up to hold his throat for a moment.

"Could I get a drink or something? I'm parched." Ziva nodded and looked around for the cup the nurses had brought in. She spotted it and checked inside it, thankful that the ice hadn't melted.

"Here, ice chips are all you are allowed at the moment." Tony groaned, but he knew the drill, he'd had the same after the plague and he knew he could endure it. He opened his mouth and Ziva carefully began to feed them to him, waiting until one had completely melted before giving him another. When he finally said he'd had enough she set the cup down on the table beside the bed and gently took his hand. "I am so _very_ glad you are alright Tony, you had me worried for such a long time." She whispered to him, and his brow creased in worry.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, dreading the answer. Surely it couldn't be more than a few hours, he certainly felt like he could sleep for a week, so I couldn't be a long time.

"Two days, but it has felt like so much longer." She said, watching him carefully, hoping he could hear the words she had promised herself she would say; only to find her traitorous mouth wouldn't let them past her lips. He watched her as she gazed at him, concerned about how his absence had affected her, and yet oddly excited. She had said twice that she'd been worried for him. Could that mean what he hoped it meant? His assurance that he wasn't leaving her had seemed like the perfect way to tell her how he felt, but it seems it hadn't worked as well as he had hoped it would. Was she still wondering? Or was she letting him down gently? He took a deep breath and decided to take a chance. He'd never know otherwise.

"I'm glad you're here with me." He whispered to her, gripping her hand to give himself the strength to go through with what he had in mind. "I know it'll sound crazy but… someone I knew and respected just gave me a serious talking to, and I have a new rule for myself now." Ziva looked at him quizzically, no one but her and Mike had been in his room while he had been awake. She shook off her thoughts, not wanting to contemplate the thought of him talking with the dead, which would mean he had been closer to leaving her than she was willing to accept.

"What is it?" she asked, and he gave her a bright smile, and her hand a squeeze and looked deep into her eyes. His message would impossible to mistake now, so if she agreed, he would be a very happy man, and if not… well it was better to focus on the positive side of things for once. He took a deep breath and hoped.

"Some risks are worth taking." Her eyes widened slightly, before a huge smile broke out on her face, and he felt a smile of his own taking form in answer to hers. She nodded emphatically and brought her other hand to his, her vision going a little misty from happiness.

"That is a fantastic rule, Tony." She whispered back to him, a tear making its way down her face, and then she laughed suddenly. "That person must have been quite something to knock that much sense into you." his smile widened and he nodded.

"You have no idea." He said, thinking of what Kate would say to how he had turned out since her death. Would she be proud of him? He hoped so; all he wanted now was to be the man he knew he was underneath all of the childishness and the clown persona he had worn so well over the years. Her death had been the beginning of his change, then Paula's and, although he was loath to admit it, Jeanne had brought out the side he had effectively buried to never see daylight, the side that wanted a woman, one woman, to be everything to him.

Had Jenny seen that? Or had she seen nothing beyond her pursuit of La Grenouille? He liked to think she had made him a slightly better person by intent, since she had seemed to hold him in high esteem, even so far as to offer him a promotion, yet tell him she was proud of him for turning it down. Through the undercover mission, that had been his guiding light; that Jenny was proud of him. The problems between them had only seemed to start once Gibbs was back and he had begun putting them both under such pressure by trying to stake a claim on him.

Tony found himself blaming neither of them for what happened, how could he when he himself had seen how he had come to enjoy Jeanne's company? It had been so obvious how it would end, but love makes you blind. He could honestly say he had fallen prey to that old adage, and while he regretted how it had ended between them, he didn't regret that it _had_ ended. Ziva had shuffled onto his radar after that incident, and he knew he had suddenly come into focus on hers once she had seen he could be a man, not just the boy he had been for so long. He owed his family, the family he had now, for the changes that had made him the man he was today, and he would die for them; he just hoped he wouldn't have to do that anytime soon, though. This brush with death was a reminder of how short life was, and that he had to grab it with both hands. He would do that from now on.

A tapping noise on the glass made the two of them look over to Mike, who turned the cup upside down to show he had drunk it and then he pointed behind him to show he was going to get her another. He then turned on his heel and walked away. Ziva sighed and squeezed Tony's hand once more before letting go and making for the door.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked

"He is getting annoyed with me, I have been quite stubborn. He'll expect me waiting for the next cup or he'll come in and get me." Tony laughed at the thought of the retired old Agent trying to drag the Mossad Assassin out of the room, but his laughter stopped when Ziva levelled her very serious gaze at him. "He promised Gibbs he would look after me no matter how much of a struggle I put up. He has carried me out before." Then she smiled at him. "I have a better reason to hurry drinking it now though." She kissed the back on her glove and then pressed her fingers to his lips, careful not to get the back of the glove anywhere near him. Tony grinned up at her.

"When I get better, I'm taking you out for a meal. Candlelight. Music. Just you and me." Their eyes locked and she nodded, accepting his words.

"It is a date."

* * *

Abby finished up her report on the evidence, and turned to see Tim put the last of the evidence away in its box. He had been such a great help, she really wouldn't have gotten it all done so fast without him. They had to hurry though, Ducky was going to go to the hospital with them to see Jenny, and they couldn't keep him waiting since he had to get home and look after his mother. Abby signed her name and then flipped her folder closed, tucking it under her arm so she could put it up on Jenny's desk, waiting for her, or whoever would be standing in for her, to sign off on.

"I'll just stash this in the evidence lock up and then we are all set." McGee grinned at her and she nodded, wiggling her file at him.

"I'll just put this on Jenny's desk, well, Cynthia's desk since she'll probably have locked up Jenny's office by now. Want to meet downstairs in front of the elevator?" she asked, shrugging into her coat and retrieving her lunch box from the fridge. McGee nodded and then entered the elevator, while Abby locked up her lab and decided to take the stairs. It would be quicker than waiting for the elevator to come back up.

As soon as she got out of the stairwell on the Director's office floor, she looked over the railing and down at the bullpen, empty because her family was currently in the hospital, or visiting in the hospital. She frowned at her thoughts and decided she needed to be a bit perkier. Her family was getting _better_ in the hospital, and the rest was _encouraging_ the ill to be better by visiting. That was better. She smiled and pranced into Cynthia's office, startling the poor woman and nearly sending a stack of folders sprawling to the ground. Both women grabbed the pile before it could fall and then Abby added her file on top.

"Abby, hi. I should've known it was you; only you could be happy enough to brighten someone's day right now." Jenny's assistant smiled sadly at her, and Abby found that unacceptable.

"Jenny is fine, Cynthia. Tony woke up too, so everything will be back to normal soon." she said, hoping to cheer her up. Cynthia closed her eyes and sighed, then opened them and glowered at Abby sadly.

"Yes, but until then I have to deal with Vance. He's coming over to stand in for Jenny again." Cynthia grimaced and Abby did the same. Him. Great.

"She'll be back in no time. She's a workaholic, she _needs_ to work." Cynthia grinned at her and then nodded. Abby waved and walked back to the stairs, skipping happily down them in an attempt to get rid of all of her nervous energy before she was cooped up in a hospital room. At the foot of the stairs she was met by Tim and Ducky, who accepted her hugs and then pushed her towards the car park. Their mommy and daddy were waiting for them, and they didn't want to be late.

A.N.: I think I'm just going to do an epilogue next, so thank you for sticking with me. I don't want to drag this on for too long. Thanks for reading and reviewing guys!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A.N.: Thank you to Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, black widow mistress, HesMines and books-n-cookies for reviewing!

Jenny Shepard was content. Her life had been turned upside down so many times that she couldn't ever remember being as happy as she was right now. This was one of those moments that would be immortalised in her memory, one of those times that would make her smile through her tears when she was unhappy, one of those moments that she wished would be the last thing she thought of when it was her time to die. She was exhausted, physically drained from all of the hours of pain she had endured, and so tired from the pushing and the long nights when her little boy had been kicking too much to let her rest, but it had all been worth it.

Jethro wrapped his arms around her waist and helped her to sit up a little further on the hospital bed, stuffing a few more pillows behind her and carefully laying her back in a reclining position, so that the risk of her dropping the precious cargo the nurse was bringing to them was almost zero. She wouldn't drop it, but the natural protective side had come out in Jethro during the last few months, and this was the first time he was going to be in direct contact with his son, so she didn't complain.

It had been a full year since she had been shot in that diner, since she had finally let Jethro know how much he meant to her, and the changes in their lives since then were phenomenal. The Sec-Nav had understood their position and actions, having been the Sec-Nav back when their mission had been sanctioned. The fact that it was so clearly Decker's fault had meant that Jenny's job was not in question; she had just had a serious talking to about how she had gone about trying to take care of the problem Decker had left for them.

Jethro had proposed to her while she had still been in the hospital, he had even bought her an engagement ring, but he had told her in advance that he didn't expect her to marry him, he just hoped she would. He wanted to be in a committed relationship, one that other people, including other men, could see was real and strong. He didn't want her to feel like she was just another number though, so staying engaged until they died would be enough for him. She hadn't wanted to rush into anything and what he had suggested seemed like the perfect answer, so she had happily agreed to the engagement. She did want to marry him, she had dreamt of their wedding for so long, but she wanted to get used to their relationship first, wanted to see how it would affect their work lives before trying marriage.

As soon as she had been discharged from Bethesda Jethro had begun to take care of her, seeing to all of her needs and even working well with Leon Vance, just so that she wouldn't have a huge mess to go back to at work. Cynthia had even remarked to her that he had been civil to the other Agencies; and while civil is a far cry from polite, she would take what she could get. Ducky had spent more time with her, remarking that it had been such a long time since he had spent time with the Jennifer he remembered, the carefree fun loving woman, rather than the lady with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She appreciated the sentiment, shared it in fact. She missed her old self too and she was determined to reclaim her.

The thing that had been praying on Jenny's mind during the entire recovery period had not been 'will the Agency survive without me?' it had been 'what if it's too late for me to have a baby?' Her biological clock had been ticking for a while, and though they had started work on trying to make a baby as soon as she was fit and healthy physically, it had taken a few months before she had gotten the good news. The wait had been torture for the both of them; probably more so for Jethro since Jenny had been cooped up at home with nothing to do until Noemi came round, which meant he was the only real outlet for her anger and depression. She had said many truly awful things but he'd let it slide every time, knowing that she didn't really mean a word of it.

The day she had gone back to work had been a mixed blessing. She had started taking her frustrations out on other Agencies, instead of Jethro, the ones that rung her up to complain about her Agents. She had a quite vicious way of breaking a man down, so much so that the other Directors and politicians had stopped ringing her up and started to email her, preferring to leave their opinion without receiving hers. Understandably Cynthia had looked over her shoulder while she had composed her replies. This had gotten Jethro out of the line of fire, but it had made communication on 'the Hill' quite difficult. The Sec-Nav had spoken to her about her behaviour and reduced her tears, which had surprised him so much he had called for Ducky. The happy news had been delivered then. Her mood swings were being caused by pregnancy hormones. She had then been reduced to tears of happiness and sent home to try and give her a little privacy to regain control of herself.

"Here we are; baby boy Shepard-Gibbs. Meet your Mommy and Daddy." The nurse said as she approached them with a squirming, crying, blue bundle which she handed over to Jethro as soon as she reached them. Jethro didn't need to be instructed on how to hold a baby; the action came so naturally to him that the baby's cries seemed to get quieter in his arms. Jethro perched on the side of Jenny's bed and leaned back with her, so she could see the little boy that had been growing inside of her for the last eight and a half months. The baby had come two weeks early, but the hospital staff assured them that the baby was perfectly healthy. Some babies don't wait the full nine months and others like to wait more. This little one kept his own schedule.

"He's so beautiful, Jethro." Jenny whispered, reaching out her hand and gently stroking the tiny cheek with a finger. The baby stopped crying almost altogether and turned his head towards her finger, capturing it in his mouth and gently sucking on it, then trying to grab it while he sucked harder. Jenny laughed softly and tried to pull her finger back, but the boy wasn't going to accept defeat. The moment her finger left his mouth he began to cry again, so she gave it him back. Then his eyes opened. The vivid shade of green that stared back at them made Jenny's heart skip a beat and her dream, the one from when she had been shot, came back to her in a rush. Her little green eyed baby boy had come to her at last and she felt the hot tears slide down her cheeks.

"He looks really hungry, Jen. Do you want me to help you with the first feeding?" Jethro asked softly, as if he was afraid talking loudly might make the baby cry again, or disappear. The look of wonder on his face that had appeared at the same moment his son had was still present, and not likely to go away any time soon. He wiped away Jenny's tears and kissed her head reassuringly and she nodded.

"Yes please Jethro. I feel like I'm going to do something wrong or… I don't know." she sighed, her nerves getting the best of her. Wasn't this supposed to be instinctive? She felt like a club footed elephant trying to walk across a glass floor without knocking over the little ornaments that were littered across it. This was so new to her, but she had Jethro with her and he had done this before. If she did something wrong, he would help her. Jethro adjusted his hold on the baby and carefully passed the little boy over to Jenny, then helped her to open the front of her gown. The rest went by smoothly and Jenny felt a little foolish for being worried. It was a little bit of a shock when he finally latched on but once that was done, the instinctive feeling she had thought was absent had taken over and she held her son closer, no more worries filling her.

* * *

Ziva woke up with a start, her phone vibrating next to her and startling her from the most pleasant dream she had indulged in for quite some time. She had been pregnant with Tony's child. It was a dream she held close to her, because although she and Tony were in a very serious relationship, her position as a field Agent meant that having a child would be impractical and dangerous, and while she wanted to have a child, she didn't want to give up the field. She was wasted on paper work, her true skills were only realised in the thick of the action and that meant that she couldn't see herself ever having a baby. She reached over Tony's still sleeping form and picked up her cell phone, looking at the caller ID and jolting upright in the bed. It was Abby, which meant that Jenny and Gibbs' baby must be coming.

"Hello?" she said, holding her breath and waiting for the hysterical explosion from Abby. She didn't have to wait long; Abby nearly spoke over her in her excitement.

"_Ziva! The baby is here! It was born about an hour ago. It's late so the nurses don't want us to come in though, so don't get out of bed. Gibbs said we can go over in the morning before work. It's a boy!_" Abby gushed over the details that Gibbs had told her about and Ziva felt her heart getting heavier. She was ecstatic for her friends; they deserved this happiness, but it made her own life seem emptier than it was. Was holding off on a family so she could continue to enjoy her job, worth the heartache that seeing other happy families gave her?

"Zee? Who is it?" Tony mumbled, his voice garbled from talking into his pillow, but she could easily understand him. He turned his head towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling himself closer to her and resting his head on her lap. She stroked his hair and smiled at him.

"It is Abby. The baby is here. It is a boy." She told him and she watched the thrilled look pass over his face. He wanted children too, but he respected her decision to keep her job for now, and though he never expressed any dissatisfaction with their childless relationship, she felt that he desperately wanted to change her mind but didn't want to upset her. Her resolve on the matter had begun to waver when Jenny's pregnancy had been announced, but Jenny had told her to be absolutely sure before making any life changing decisions, and she was glad she had listened to her. Not three months later she had been severely injured in a crash, not due to her driving; she had been a passenger, and if she had been pregnant she would undoubtedly have lost it.

Getting over her injuries from the crash had been difficult and Tony had been beside himself with worry, but that was part of her job. She knew she didn't have to make her decision now, but she would speak to Jenny again and enquire about positions that would get her in the field but not in the same way she was now. Maybe then she could have a complete family. It was something to look forward to at least.

"Thank you Abby, I will speak to you tomorrow. Goodbye." She said, not expecting her to immediately stop talking, and so she was surprised when she did. Her surprise disappeared when she heard McGee's distinctive voice in the background and she suddenly wanted Abby to put the phone down. There was only one reason for the tone of his voice and Ziva hoped she would never hear him trying to seduce Abby again. It was like hearing an intimate moment between your brother and his girlfriend.

"_Bye Ziva, bye Tony!_" Abby shouted and Ziva held the phone near him so he could hear her. He said goodbye and then waited for Ziva to put her phone down before dragging her down to his level and kissing her senseless. She responded and then decided in that moment that she would definitely speak to Jenny and perhaps Gibbs too. She should probably get some babysitting time in so she knew what she was doing with a baby, just in case. Once Tony came up for air she shared this thought with him, and his smile widened even further.

"If you are sure Zee, only if you are sure. I don't want you to do this because you think I want it, I want you to do this because you do. It will only make you resent me if you don't and that is the last thing I want." He looked deep in to her eyes as he spoke and she felt the rightness of the situation. Tony was not going to take advantage of her; he wouldn't expect her to give up her job and stay at home with the baby. He was a perfect gentleman, and that made her love him more. Their future would be a happy one, regardless of her decision.

* * *

Jethro contentedly watched his son eat his fill and then put his arm around Jenny's shoulders, bringing her close to him so she was reclining against his chest and the pillows behind her. He had been given a second chance at happiness and he was glad he had taken it. The years of failed marriages and unfulfilling relationships seemed to be so insignificant in the face of the joy he felt now, with Jenny and his son. He had thought for so long that his only chance for happiness had passed him by with Shannon and Kelly's deaths and that thought had sent him into a funk he hadn't been inclined to get himself out of.

Mike had helped him then, he had given him the revenge he needed and then given him a job and a reason to live. He saved lives at NIS and that had been a guiding light that Jethro hadn't been able to ignore so he had embraced it and continued to do so, long after the name changed to NCIS and Mike became disillusioned by the incident at Khobar Towers. All of the things that had happened to him, all of the choices he had made had led him down the path that had eventually brought him in to Jenny's life, and in that way, he couldn't hate any of his ex wives.

Diane had been the catalyst for his serious interest in his young probie, and he knew Diane's inappropriate behaviour had made Jenny's heart soften in regards to him. He wouldn't say he owed his current happiness to that witch, but her adultery had brought his and Jenny's hearts closer together. No, if he owed anyone for his life now, it was Mike. The older man had gone out of his way to help him more than once and most recently, he had risked his own life to try and keep Jenny safe at the diner. Tony and Ziva had too, and he had rescinded rule twelve as a thank you, so they didn't feel under pressure while they began their own relationship. The two had been under a lot more stress during the first few weeks after the shooting because of Tony's injuries, but they had healed well and they were both back at work in no time, their relationship getting stronger by the day.

Jethro watched as his son began to get sleepy, his little eyelids drooping and his mouth working until he gave a little yawn. Jenny snuggled closer to Jethro's chest and sighed happily. Their life was wonderful at the moment; it really didn't seem like it could get much better, but there was one thing missing.

"What are we going to call him?" he asked her softly, carefully trying to let the baby sleep but not wanting to wait to ask his question.

"Alexander." Gibbs raised an eyebrow and she shrugged a little. "I like the name Alexander; I always imagined that my son would have that name. It sounds good with your last name too, so if he decides a double barrel last name is too much, he can decide between them."

"That's going to be quite a while in the future Jen." He said, not really thinking that far ahead himself, and Jenny just smiled at him. He pulled her closer and they watched their newborn baby boy sleep. "Alexander Shepard-Gibbs, welcome to the family."

A.N.: Thank you for sticking with me to the end! I really hope you all enjoyed this story and I thank you for waiting to read the update every Saturday. Thanks again!


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